1994-1995 Harry Singer Foundation National Essay Contest

Should Government Intervene To Help Children and Teens in Trouble: If so, How? If Not Government, Who or What Entity Should Offer What Type of Assistance?

Teacher: Tom Osting

Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

  1st Melissa Benson 2nd Tara Cutts     3rd Matt Mitchell

"Out there in society, there are many teenagers in trouble in many different ways. As a teenager myself, I see some of these problems everywhere I go, everyday of the week. Yes, I do feel the government should intervene with teenagers if they are in trouble. There are many different ways and reasons government can, and should, intervene in teenagers lives. Some of the more noticeable problems that teenagers [have] today are drugs, violence, and sex....All three of these problems can leave an impact on a teenager...[and] can be very deadly as well.

You always hear about...problems going on in large schools like Milwaukee, and it does not seem like these problems occur in small schools. [If] you...[thought that, you would be] wrong... Small schools are just like large schools, they...have the same problems but [not as pronounced]. When it comes right down to it, the government does not realize the impact these problems can have [on] teenagers.[and] the whole nation. Take sex for example, if teenagers continue to have premarital sex, [there is] a greater chance of spreading the AIDS virus [and increasing] teen pregnancy...Even though schools already teach and talk about sex and drugs, they could do it more thoroughly so students actually comprehend...these two problems.

As for violence, schools should talk about it and encourage teenagers who have been beaten or have beaten anyone to step forward, if not in class in a guidance office, so [they can learn] how to tell people to stop hitting them or [learn] how to hold their own temper. ...The government can also help teenagers by being harsher on them [under current] laws....One law that could be enforced better, is the law that forbids the sale of any harmful drug. This, would [mean] less drug abuse and maybe less violence and sex because these three problems usually go hand in hand."
Diane Fuerstenbers, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"I would need a couple of billion words to go into detail on all of the problems that children and teens are exposed to. Some of these problems deserve the attention of the government and some do not."
Matt Mitchell, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"According to the Wisconsin State Journal, one of five children in the United States is living below the poverty level. Ten million children have no health insurance, while one hundred thousand are homeless. Another study [shows] one of every eight children under twelve is hungry. In fact, over five hundred thousand children are malnourished. The danger to these children is not just poor nutrition. Children who don't get enough to eat are much more likely to be tired, irritable, unable to concentrate, and prone to headaches and other illnesses. All of these effects can keep children out of school, which is a basic support unit for youngsters. It is the government's responsibility to provide these families with financial support."
Mary Bunker, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"Without government we wouldn't have the discipline and direction to make the advances in technology that we have made. Our government was designed to help those in need while keeping order in our daily lives."
Erin Reddy, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"I know that the government does do some good in some cases but I think that it could intervene more. It should do more to help those families with children and teenagers who need the help, and when they offer help they should follow through with their offer. I know of two separate cases where social workers have been assigned to a case and then never contacted the person to whom they were assigned. What good does it do to have these agencies when they don't do what they are supposed to do?

I believe that more agencies should be created to help those who are in need; especially teenagers. We need places where we can go and talk to complete strangers about our problems. We need advice, but often we are afraid to ask because we don't want anyone to know about our fears and our dreams. All people need to be able to talk to someone about problems no matter how stupid the problems seem to be. Everyone needs to talk, not just the people who can afford private counseling or the ones who have it listed on their insurance polices.

If the government somehow created this program, or one like it, I am sure that a lot of teenage problems could be [prevented]. A 'talking' program could help reduce problems such as teen pregnancy, teen alcoholism, teen smoking, and teen violence. It could also have an effect on the number of teen suicides and gang activities. By reducing just a few of these problems, life would be better for hundreds of thousands of people.

If the government did start such a program, and it was successful, it would also [benefit] the government....because people would be happy with the government and [more] willing to vote and participate in other government activities. It [might even] raise the number of young voters.... If the government became more involved with [youth] everyone would benefit. There are so many problems out there that affect us that we need some guidance and some assistance in order to make the right decisions. So, please get involved---after all we are your future."
Susan Hammerly, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"Government is necessary for many reasons. Government provides people with things that alone they couldn't have, or even dream of having. Government was created, 'By the people, for the people,' to fulfill many aspects of a person's everyday life. When people created government it was for a specific reason. They knew that it would improve their lives and help them with their problems. Government intervenes in many aspects of a person's life; that is what it was created to do. ...There are many things that government helps people achieve. Government helps people feel secure, protect[s them] from criminals, and solves many of their problems....Government should intervene to help children or teens in trouble. That is what it was created to do. Government needs to protect its people. The people created government [and] if it doesn't serve a purpose...they will get rid of it....I think that government needs to play a big role in everyone's life. ...Government is very influential and should use its influence to prevent...problems from ever occurring."
RJ Messling, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"Children and teens need help, and it is the government's moral obligation to intervene in these cases.... The government is the only organization that has the vast resources [required]. With careful money management and planning, the government can put beneficial programs into action."
Mary Bunker, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"I believe that the United States government should be involved with problems affecting children... The government affects everyone so it is the best suited to touch a child's life."
Erin Ogden, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"If the trouble was that the children were being abused at home, either sexually or physically, then I would be all for government intervention. If the trouble was something that the teens or children could control, then the government shouldn't get involved. Take the problem of teenage pregnancy for example: I believe this problem has a pretty simple solution that does not involve government intervention. The solution is don't have sex. Pretty simple. The other option is birth control. This is also pretty simple. Most forms of contraceptives are fairly safe today, although the best bet is not to have sex at all. I do not believe that this is the government's place to get involved."
Matt Mitchell, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

A few students opted to minimize government's role:

"Our nation's government is suppose to regulate us, not control us. It is true that a lack of government would lead to confusion and chaos, but too much government would lead to angry citizens. ...Some Americans don't want the government to do anything more than keep us out of war, keep a good steady national economy, and give farmers money when their crops fail. Sadly our government can hardly afford to do those things.

Young adults come in contact with many problems during their teenage lives, some major, some minor. How would the government decide [where to or not to] intervene? Who would decide? The President? Vice President? Members of Congress? How would they justify not helping in [certain] cases? Intervening by the government in a teenagers problem sounds sort of like a nice thing to do - helping those who need it. Sounds morally like the right thing to do, doesn't it? But we must ask ourselves, why does the government need so much involvement in our lives? Is it just a subtle way of getting more control over the citizens of America?"
Tara Cutts, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"It would be nice if we could run to the government with every little problem that we have. Many of you know that we cannot do this. We should try and help each other out as much as possible without getting the government involved. This would make life easier for us and for the government."
Matt Mitchell, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"Child abuse is an extremely serious problem and if it is detected, the appropriate help and counseling must be available to students who have this problem. Victims of child abuse are basically 'trapped' in their situation. They know they can't go to their parents about it because the parents are the source of the problem. Many of the victims are also afraid of going other places for help because they fear that their parents will find out and are scared and that they will be abused even more. Victims also believe that it is their fault that they are getting beaten or abused. For example, they think that they will not amount to anything when they grow up, are not good enough at something, are worthless, don't live up to their parents' expectations, etc. The reason the victims feel this way is usually because parents drill these thoughts into their heads, and as a result the victims believe it is their fault and believe that they deserve the abuse. Because of all of this, the problem often remains a secret for many years."
Chris Kalish, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"It would be good if the government would set up a free hotline where kids could report that they were being abused. The government would then investigate the allegations or refer the problem to the local police. If they found the allegations to be true, then they should get the children or teens out of that situation. They could get them a home with some relatives or maybe a friend of the family until their parents got help for their problems. During the period that the children were staying away from home the parents would still be required to support them .... If they care about their children, then they will get help and after being checked on by the government, the children will be allowed to return to their home."
Matt Mitchell, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"Another way that the government needs to intervene to help children and teens is by punishing the people that try to harm them. According to the Christian Science Monitor, eighty-one percent of 8th through 11th-grade students surveyed in public schools across the US. have been the target of some form of sexual harassment, ranging from sexual comments to sexual abuse. The government needs to focus on putting these offenders behind bars. The only way to stop people from harming children is by stiffening the punishment so that they won't be as likely to commit these horrible crimes."
Mary Bunker, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"We need to help parents help their children. We could do this in many ways, including getting them into counseling, getting them a job, and helping them get cheaper medical treatment. But under no circumstances do I believe that children should be permanently taken away from their family."
Susan Hammerly, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"A victim of child abuse is more apt to get help in school rather than outside of school. It is important that counseling is available at any time in schools and that more programs dealing with the awareness of child abuse be set up so that victims of the abuse, whomever they may be, know that it is not their fault that they are being abused and that it is all right to get help and that help should be sought immediately before the problem becomes too serious... ...The main point is that whatever the problem may be, school is the place where it can be prevented or solved if various awareness and prevention programs and a wide range of counseling are added."
Chris Kalish, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"There are already organizations to help teenagers who are pregnant, those contemplating suicide, or abusing alcohol. There are counselors to help a teenager in these areas and many more that may arise. Most teenagers have friends, parents, relatives and teachers they could talk with. There are telephone numbers available to call, including health centers, family planning, social services and AODA treatment. All of these were found on a teen resource card entitled Safe Passage. It was given to students by a school counselor. If these already exist, why then, do we need the government interfering in the lives of teens? Don't they have enough to do?"
Tara Cutts, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"In more than fifteen states, a program called the Adolescent Suicide Awareness Program has been devised. This program trains all members of the school community to recognize a troubled student and intervene. Eighty nine percent of the one thousand students who took part in this program felt that the program should be brought to other teens. The success of ASAP is just one example of the benefits that government sponsored programs can provide. These programs put an emphasis on prevention. The government needs to continue sponsoring these types of programs."
Mary Bunker, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"One way that the government needs to intervene to help children and teens in trouble is by putting helpful programs into action in schools. According to the Milwaukee Journal, the United States government spends $21.5 billion supporting teen mothers and their children. Instead of spending this extreme amount of money supporting these teens, the government needs to concentrate on preventing...teen pregnancy as well as other problems facing youngsters. For example, schools should provide worthwhile sex education classes and family planning counseling to help solve the problem of teen pregnancy."
Mary Bunker, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"In public schools there should be people to seek out troubled teens because very few teens are going to admit that they need help and very few are going to seek help. Now it is almost all up to the teens and their friends to get help for themselves or for their friends. There needs to be more school counselors available. One or two counselors per school is not nearly enough."
Abe Hoeper, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

"The problems that the government doesn't deal with still need to be dealt with by someone. I feel that support groups should be organized for children and teenagers who want and need to talk about their problems and troubles. These should probably be set up by the county or maybe even the town. I believe that these would help teenagers to deal with their problems...that way, the [federal] government wouldn't have the burden of trying to fund all of the programs that may be necessary to help out teenagers and children."
Matt Mitchell, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin

Some students see prevention as the preferred solution:

"I believe prevention is the solution, and in this case I truly believe that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."
Erin Ogden, Iowa-Grant High School, Livingston, Wisconsin
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