Sunday, March 21, 2010
The children may be our future, but after an incident at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City last month, some people are adamant that they shouldn't be our present.
Audio footage of a child controlling air traffic at JFK was recently released, sparking outrage and a Federal Aviation Administration investigation. The kid's dad and the dad's supervisor have both been suspended.
"This behavior is not acceptable and does not demonstrate the kind of professionalism expected from all FAA employees,” the FAA said in a statement.
But is it really unprofessional? Or is it simply giving the kid a head start on being a professional himself?
Sure, there are some legitimate concerns about the safety of letting a small child communicate with planes as they take off from one of the busiest airports in the country. But if you listen to the tapes, it's clear that the kid is merely saying what his dad tells him to say, and doing it well; at one point, a pilot tells him he's doing an “awesome job.”
There are two important issues at play here. Firstly, all this anger at the kid is distracting us from the real threat to American safety: old people. But more relevantly, this raises an interesting question. Why don't we give children on-the-job training in high-stakes fields more often?
After all, if the suspended air traffic controller had the early experience his son now has, he would have known better than to let a kid do his job. When his son takes over the family business, he'll know not to make the same mistake thanks to the invaluable educational opportunity his dad foolishly provided.
This new hands-on approach to “Take Your Kid to Work” day could prove to be just as beneficial elsewhere. When I was 11 months old, I had open heart surgery to fix two holes on the septum, which separates the left and right sides of the heart. The surgery was performed by a top doctor in the field who had many years of experience with the procedure. It turned out OK, but in retrospect, I wish one of my youthful peers had done it. The doctor who fixed up my heart has since retired, leaving a hole that could already be filled if he had relinquished the scalpel to an eager child two decades ago.
Just about any other occupation could use the presence of these little tykes: S.W.A.T. team agent, lion tamer or even ice road trucker. You name it.
It's all about the long-term view. Think of how effective prostitution stings will be twenty years from now if we let children tag along for the ride today. Giving them that head start will no doubt breed a generation of workers marked by extreme competence.
I have to commend the unnamed air traffic controller for being a true pioneer. He clearly sees the value in giving kids adult-level responsibilities. If the children really are our future, why not let the future start today?
— Nichols is a junior from Stilwell in creative writing.
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