My Letter to Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith, son of Will and Jada, and boyfriend of Kylie Jenner recently took to twitter to discuss education...

"People Use To Ask Me What Do You Wanna Be When You Get Older And I Would Say What A Stupid Question The Real Question Is What Am I Right Now,"  he continued: "All The Rules In This World Were Made By Someone No Smarter Than You. So Make Your Own."

"School Is The Tool To Brainwash The Youth," he added. "Education Is Rebellion. If Newborn Babies Could Speak They Would Be The Most Intelligent Beings On Planet Earth."

Finally he said, "If Everybody In The World Dropped Out Of School We Would Have A Much More Intelligent Society . . . Everybody Get Off Your Phones And Go Do What You Actually Wanna Do."

So, I'm writing him a letter to best express how I feel about his recent rant.

Dear Jaden,

You're right, we should get off our phones.  You should get off your phone and stop tweeting about subjects that you know nothing about.

Have you ever been to a public school?  Even for just one day?  Have you ever ridden a bus?  Gone through the lunch line, played dodgeball in PE, had math homework, a spelling test, your name on the board?

No? Oh, I thought so.

Do you know any public school teachers?  Have you stood beside them while they go to school, do their internships and get their Master's degrees?  Have you watched one try to stay up to date on their subject matter, grade their papers, make up their exams, discipline their students, and deal with angry parents?

Nope?

Do you know what "No Child Left Behind" is?  How about "Common Core" or Regents exams?

Didn't think so.

So, my dear, sweet, 15 year old millionaire friend, please say no more.

Is education in distress in the United States?  Sure it is.  Do we need funding for inner-city schools?  Yes!  Could the government and parents all do more to make this situation better?  Absolutely!  But, is going on your twitter-machine and spouting off about it the best way to handle it?  No.

As a parent who went to public school, has a daughter in public school, and is married to a public school teacher, I feel like I have some ground to stand on here.

You don't.

You made more on your last film than most teachers make in 10 years.

Also, your grammar sucks and you didn't use any punctuation.

Thanks for trying to cure the education problems in the United States, but maybe it's better left to the people in the trenches.

Love,

Bethany