Name Date

Copyright Hampton-Brown 78
UNIT 6:
COMING OF AGE
EDGE Level A
Directions: Questions 1318 are about On Giving the Vote to Sixteen-Year-Olds. Read the
selection. Then read each question and choose the best answer.
Reading and Literary Analysis, continued
On Giving the Vote to
Sixteen-Year-Olds
Our country is thinking about lowering the voting
age. Is it time to give sixteen-year-olds the right to vote
in national and local elections? Are teens at that age
qualified to accept the responsibility? Many people
believe that the answer is yes.
A high percentage of teens have expressed interest
in voting. Many of them work hard at after-school
jobs and pay taxes. They have strong opinions on
environmental and educational issues. Well-organized
youth groups have asked that sixteen-year-olds be
granted the right to vote.
Opponents of this idea think teens are not yet able
to exercise good judgment. Research indicates that
a sixteen-year-old human brain is still developing.
Their brains are developing in ways that help control
emotional impulses. Those same connections help us to
understand the results of decisions and actions. These
brain networks are not fully developed until a person
is older.
As a result, teens may need help understanding the
limits of their experience when they get behind the wheel
of a car. They may need help managing emotions in close
relationships. But can sixteen-year-olds think clearly
through a political issue? Can teens make responsible
decisions? Can they demonstrate enough community
awareness to cast a serious vote? The accomplishments
of teen leadership programs suggest that they can.
The Teen Leadership Institute brings high school
juniors together to face barriers of race and religion.
Teens from more than a hundred schools participate in
discussion and activities. Their experiences make them
passionate about making their communities better places.
Teens In Public Service (TIPS) places teens in paid
community-service internships. TIPS says, We believe
engaging young people in their communities today
will produce leaders who are socially conscious and
dedicated to service. If sixteen-year-olds can work this
thoughtfully, they are mature enough to vote.
Outward Bound is a wilderness adventure
organization. They have helped countless young
people learn confidence and responsibility.
Teens work together toward common goals in
challenging situations. This builds life skills, such as
communication and problem solving. Teens learn to
understand how their actions and decisions affect their
teammates.
All of these leadership programs provide teens
with a clear structure. All of them develop mature
thought and action in participants. High schools
could offer classes that study the issues at stake
in upcoming elections. With structured guidance,
sixteen-year-old citizens could make a real
contribution to a national vote.