Voting and Maturity...

My students and I have been practicing telling people what we think without telling them "I think."  It's been fun to watch them see how easy it is to sound more professional by simply leaving out the "I" in their papers.  In an effort to "practice" the other day, the bellwork assignment was to write 3-4 sentences answering the following question without using I think, I feel, or I believe.  (Side note--it was pretty funny to hear the kids who had been absent the day before say, "How am I supposed to do that?" and hear the other students reply, "Just say it.")  The question was: Should the voting age be changed from 18 to 16?  Several of them brought up interesting points--like the fact that high schoolers sometimes end up being more informed than their adult counterparts because teachers make them research, or at least discuss, current events.  But what really surprised me was how many of them were willing to admit that 16-year-olds are not ready to vote.  They noted that teenagers sometimes don't really think things out or are too easily influenced to make that kind of decision.  I was impressed with their willingness to admit they weren't fully ready for adulthood yet.  I love it when they surprise me!