8th-grader who skipped Paul Ryan photo op: Were not brainwashed

[Zorro]

One of the students who skipped a photo with House Speaker Paul Ryan last month penned an op-ed defending her peers’ decision.

Approximately 50 eighth-graders from South Orange Middle School in New Jersey opted out of a photo with Ryan last month during a class trip to Washington, D.C. The story drew national headlines, with some criticizing the students as “losers,” “brats” and “disrespectful.” Others said the teenagers were too young to have formed political opinions of their own and were clearly brainwashed by their teachers or parents against Ryan.

“Does anybody believe a 13-year-old kid understands the intricacies of what Speaker Ryan does, day in and day out?” wrote Jay Caruso on Red State, a right-wing blog. “Most 13- and 14-year-olds have neither read widely enough nor lived long enough to have fully formed, independent political views; they are more likely to parrot whatever they’ve learned from trusted adults,” wrote Melissa Langsam Braunstein on the Federalist, another conservative publication.

Jordan McCray-Robinson, an eighth-grader who chose not to take a photo with the speaker of the House, wrote at length Monday defending herself and her classmates.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/8th-grader-skipped-paul-ryan-photo-op-not-brainwashed-125941759.html

Smart, aware kids. There's still hope for America.

[MuseRider]

1. Let's hope

we can keep it together so there is something left for them and that they do not have to struggle so hard to even make ends meet that they can't be active.

[Thomas Hurt]

2. Things that make you go hmmmm...

“Does anybody believe a 13-year-old kid understands the intricacies of what Speaker Ryan does, day in and day out?” wrote Jay Caruso on Red State, a right-wing blog. “Most 13- and 14-year-olds have neither read widely enough nor lived long enough to have fully formed, independent political views; they are more likely to parrot whatever they’ve learned from trusted adults,” wrote Melissa Langsam Braunstein on the Federalist, another conservative publication.

I seriously doubt that the majority of Trump supporters have read any part of the Constitution or know about SC opinions or know there are rules for Congressional business, or just how many recesses they really take..........as a few examples.

[El Mimbreno]

3. Sharper than people think.

Yeah, some kids this age are bored know-it-alls, but the majority are developing insight and opinions, and can relate well to issues. As a national park ranger, I frequently presented programs and held activities for this age group. Once you've caught their interest, they can really take hold of the subject. I'm retired now, but still see these young people as our hope for our, and their own, future.

[Phoenix61]

4. So the children that opted out of a photo with Ryan were brainwashed

and parroting their parents values and that is a bad thing. What about the ones that got their photo with Ryan? They were insightful and formed their political opinions all on their own? No, they did the same thing the other children did but they have different parents. Apparently, Ms Braunstein is ok with brainwashing as long as it's the "right kind." It's a parents job, their duty, to educate their children and that education should include politics. As a child matures they may choose to keep those values or may adopt others.