Should kids be responsible for their parents actions?
With all the talk about kids getting into prestigious universities with their parents money, both the parents and the kids are getting a lot of backlash for their actions. However, do you think that the kids deserve to be blamed for what their parents did? For example, one of the kids did not even know that their parents paid their way into college, and thought he got in just like any other kid. I feel that if you did not know what your. parents were doing to get you into the college, then you could not be punished. I personally think all the blame goes to the parents, at least the parents who did not tell their kids what they were doing. But if the kids knew that their parents were paying their way into college, then I feel that there is a reason to blame the kids. Otherwise, I think that all the backlash should go to the parents since it was their idea in the first place.
I agree with your point but I think that for most of the families the child must've been aware at some point or been suspicious because of the photos and meetings the parents had. However, I think that for the kids who didn't know it is very sad because they believed that their hard work got them into their school and then they found out their parents paid half a million dollars to get in. Personally, this would make me feel dumb because I would feel that my parents didn't believe I could get into college on my own.
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly some situations where kids should not be held accountable for their parents' actions, but I do not think that should apply in this instance. It is true that children learn from their parents and may lack morals if their parents do. But, at a certain point, children need to become responsible to some degree. We have discussed in class how "I didn't know" is a poor excuse. Though there are some situations where it is viewed as justifiable, these students were 17 or 18... While they may have trusted their parents (understandably), they were old enough to look further and think deeper about their applications, the admissions process, their morals, and the possibility of not getting accepted (as many of the students involved have probably never had the experience of not getting what they want).
ReplyDeleteIf we, as a society, value these prestigious universities so greatly, we ought to expect that they are places for students who have integrity and do not succumb to ignorance. Unfortunately, this is obviously not always the case. People who lack morals and integrity should be held accountable more often, and those who are vulnerable to becoming like those people should be shown the consequences before the stakes are too high, to discourage them from making the same decisions later on.
No, kids are not accountable at all, unless they directly were in on the plan to illegally get into college. Some other kids like high profile basketball recruit Brian Bowen, paid for their parents actions. Supposebly Bowen's father had accepted money from the University of Louisville, Bowen was ruled ineligible. Bowen eventually lost his draft stock and now he plays at the University of South Carolina.
ReplyDeleteI think that in this instance the kids should not be held responsible for their parents' actions. You cannot be held responsible for something if you aren’t directly linked to and didn’t directly do. Brynna brings up a good point on ignorance but I think it’s a valid card to play in this instance. I think the idea that these kids “weren’t good enough” to get into these schools should have shown through academic performance once they had started at the college. The idea that these kids fit in and were quick to integrate into a school that was supposedly too prestigious and too good for them doesn’t make sense and shows a flaw in how the college system admits students. I think that if our college system really was black and white they would have stuck out like a sore thumb and wouldn’t have been able to compete academically with others around them. In addition, I believe that these kids will receive enough backlash from their classmates. It's not fair to someone who has worked hard throughout high school to go to school with someone who has paid their way in. One may look at them thinking that it's not their fault but many won't be able to mask the resentment they feel towards them when they realize that everything they have worked hard for has been handed to them.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, a kids life is dictated by the adult in his or her life. Their political views, the way they treat others etc... The upbringing a kid has often has a way of playing into the personality, characteristics etc... of the kid. So when you are to say that a parents misdeed is the kids fault is kinda unrealistic. However in a situation like the one with Olivia Jade and the college admissions scandal, she may not have orchestrated the admissions cheating, but she knew about it and did not even attempt to prevent her mom from doing it. She went a long with it knowing it was wrong and as an adult, and even if you are like 16-17, you should be able to tell whats right from wrong at that level of scamming. So is she to blame for her parents actions? no. Did she contribute and should she take some punishment for it? yes. This is one of few situations where a kids bystander-ed actions in a clearly immoral situation created by their parents warrants some consequences.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that in some of these situations the children were absolutely clueless about the entire thing, but there were also a hand full of them that were in on the plan. As the comment above mentions Olivia Jade, I know that she was aware of it all according to sources that I have read. It is very disappointing to me that she knowingly took pictures in row boats to create an entirely fake recruitment onto the team. It is very scary to me that people who work on the recruitment team can be bribed with money. What about all the other athletes who have worked their entire lives toward a college recruitment? For an individual with money to take their place is sickening and completely unfair.
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