Teens need more education about relationships
Re: “Married to the single life” (Extra, Jan. 12)
While I agree in large measure with the analysis in Donna Nebenzahl’s article, there are some gaps that merit comment.
She writes: “The question is, has growing singleness come about because the chance of meeting someone has diminished … or is it the result of a choice …”
I would argue that there are other factors at play.
The decline of marriage may correlate with economic prosperity, but also comes from a culture of self-interest and selfabsorption. There are often too many illusions, too much effort and focus on the wedding and not enough on the marriage.
Enduring relationships are rarely about “the chance of meeting the right someone” or finding “Mr. Right.” Relationships are complex and dynamic, and they require effort, resolve, understanding, acceptance and a willingness to be creative to succeed.
For many of our young people, the two most important roles they will have in life will be as a parent and as someone’s partner. And we provide little preparation for either.
But this isn’t rocket science. We can and should be teaching our kids in high school the knowledge and skills those roles call for: effective communication, empathy, conflict management and even about child development and parenting style.
We insist that just about all students learn algebra and trigonometry, yet we shortchange them with a lack of education about relationships. The price we pay is divorce, acrimony, unhappy children and missed opportunities to do better.