High school performance-although often lauded as a predictor of many things: salary, job, driving skill- is not as connected to daily life as purpoted to be. Bad grades do not mean a child is doomed for “failure” and destined to work at McDonalds; good grades do not guarantee a child “success”. In other words, high school has little relevance to the outside world. So why is it that legislators wish to equate passing grades to driving ability?
The answer i the commonality of responsibility. In school, students must put in effort to pass. Outside of school, students must put in effort to be safe drivers. Or so it seems. Bad performance in school cannot be oversimplified and treated, simply, as a lack of responsibility on the part of the student- the student may seriously struggle with school even when he or she puts in effort. Moreover, bad driving cannot be oversimplified and treated, simply, as a lack of responsibility on the part of the driver-the driver may seriously struggle even though he or she puts in effort. Consequently, the relationship between driving skills and high school grades is only apparent. Driving skills are based primarily on reflexes and high school grades are based primarily on intelligence.
But some times, even with intelligence, a student cannot get good grades. These situations are, more often than not, best attributed to family circumstances. Students whose parents are divorced, siblings are disabled, or financial situation dire may struggle to pass high school. Consequently, these children may need a drivers license the most, not for teenage activities such as hanging out at the mall, going to the movies, or eating at Chiptole’s, but for simply living to the next day. If legislators implemented a “C” grade requirement for a drivers license, would not the teens who need it most be discriminated against?
For teens in the U.S. a driver’s license is a step to adulthood. Its a sign of independence, a sign that a child is grown up. Its a sign of maturity, a sign that a teen can handle the responsibility of driving. That privilege should not be taken away if a teen cannot maintain a “C” average: for students and their families alike.