In praise of teenagers

I may have mentioned before that I love teenagers, and enjoy their company, which I find stimulating and entertaining. I think they get a very raw deal in the media, in society and even in the street, where they tend to be viewed with deep suspicion by a wary and fearful populace.

It was therefore very heartwarming to observe samples of the species behaving as responsible citizens not once but twice last week as I went about my business. On the first occasion, as I was driving to work, I saw an elderly lady prostrate on the ground, obviously shocked and injured, accompanied by two young teenagers. The first, a young girl, knelt by the lady and comforted her while a boy was gesticulating on a mobile phone, obviously giving directions to the emergency services. Mewanwhile we drones all drove past, wondering if we should stop, but in no doubt that they were coping admirably.

The following day I drove past a tiny blind old lady whom I know well hesitating at rhe side of the road, a teenager holding each arm and chatting animatedly to her, utterly unfazed and unselfconscious. She smiled with pleasure. I'm particularly pleased about this last incident. A couple of years ago this same old lady, still then with some residual sight, was mugged by a teenager not far from where we both live. She was terribly shaken, but was scooped up by another teenage boy who popped her in his car, got a description and drove around looking for the culprit before abandoning the search and taking her to the police station. He was outraged on her behalf. Nice that the balance of her experiences with the young should be, we hope, positive.

Then I had a long conversation with my eighteen year-old nephew, who was talking about his plans to go to an American university on a soccer scholarship. He is a thoroughly admirable, personable, sociable person, and if my kids turn out like him, I shall be well happy.

Added to all that I am lucky enough to spend a sizeable portion of each day in the classroom with teenagers, mainly boys, and it keeps me young. It's a cliche, but as we know there is some truth in most cliches.

I wouldn't want to be one though - all those hormones, all those challenges, all that angst. And who was the idiot who decreed that we should make young people sit important exams with a major impact in directing their future at a time when they are a puddle of hormones and just thinking about getting their ends away...?