Thoreau argued that he learned more from the young than from his elders, since "age...has not profited so much as it has lost." Jim Hickey, the principal of McFarland High School, has been sounding a similar theme for years.
A couple years back, he railed against an educational DVD being touted by the state treasurer that used football to teach financial concepts. "Trust me," he advised, "our students are more astute."
But Hickey's favorite target has been a state Senate program that offers to pull high school kids out of class for a week so they can spend time with lawmakers, absorbing wisdom. Here's what he scrawled last week on the latest letter from the office of the state Sergeant at Arms, seeking student participants:
"I have a better idea: Have the senators join our high school students for a day. I suspect they might learn some lessons in getting along and working toward a common good, not being immature and petty! I could easily accommodate 1/3 of the Senate at [McFarland High School]. How about it?"
