Voice of the People

I felt that Mrs. Halpin’s letter in regard to the MTV production of “Made” in Chesterton High School to be a common knee-jerk reaction to a stereotype of MTV that doesn’t apply in this case.

For those of you who are not familiar with the show, MTV’s “Made” is a production which allows teens to work for and experience the rigorous requirements of their dream positions or jobs. Often, the wishes of these teens tend to be things like being a NFL player, a dancer, a rock star or any kind of dream we all have as kids. What this does is put a real face on the hard work and dedication these jobs require.

The flip side of this is an opportunity for one lucky teen to get a real shot at their dream. Often those who actually fulfill the requirements are given the opportunity to further their career in whatever field the show features. These may or may not be situations which are beyond the reach of the teen or certainly much more difficult without MTV giving them direct access to people they might otherwise not ever meet.

I am amazed that anyone would be so selfish as to protest this opportunity being given to someone within the Chesterton community. To think that MTV is the only distraction that could occur in the classroom is simply ignorance of what happens daily within a school. Learning does not happen 100% of the time every single day, and I doubt a camera crew being around for a couple weeks will have any serious impact on the education of your child.

Perhaps some of this frustration is because many older adults have no idea what kind of pressures face the youth of not only Chesterton but the country itself. The emphasis on cramming tons of knowledge while having to get into the right school, choose the right career and hope to god you don’t make a single mistake along the way is a lot to handle. The fact that MTV gives someone a chance to bypass all that and get a shot at your dream is huge. I applaud James Goetz for giving a student at CHS this grand opportunity.

Perhaps all the parents out there should stop worrying about 30 seconds of education disruption and be happy that someone is given the chance to work for their dream. After all, that’s the most important lesson you don’t learn in the classroom. If you really want something, you have to earn it.

Todd Waugh

Class of 2001

Former resident now living in Phoenix Arizona

Posted 7/31/2008