Centerville High School

Centerville, South Dakota
Teacher: Mitch Russell

 

Rite of Passage
By Laura Ward

 

Imagine that you are living in a country where war is inevitable.  Every day, you struggle with the idea that your home could be destroyed.  The people of these sorts of nations dream of coming to The United States of America in search of a better life.  America, why here?  Don’t we have an idealistic society in which everything is perfect?  Unfortunately, our society is anything but ideal.  The people who live here want to get out, but the people who don’t, want to come here for a certain period of time to observe “perfection.”  Shouldn’t we, as a society, live up to the images that these people possess?  I personally feel that I am fortunate to live in the USA, where I am free to express my opinions, and yet, I have a certain amount of restrictions.  As a country, we need to find a happy medium so that some of the rights that we hold will be maintained for future generations. 

 

The American society today is on a downhill slide.  Teens are being much more educated about issues that teenagers shouldn’t have to come in contact with.  There are pressures that we, as teenagers, have to deal with every day.  For example, sexual pressures, pressure to do drugs, and pressure to get involved in risky activities that could someday be harmful to our health.  Are we, as teenagers, really capable of making such life-altering decisions?  I am fully aware of the fact that young people today are more advanced in different skills than previous generations, however, some of the decisions made by young people today seem to be foolish.  For some unknown reason, many adults have come to the conclusion that teenagers today are unintelligent.  I would beg to differ.  Young adults are anything but stupid. Look at some of the problems in our world.  For example, the Columbine tragedy.  If the intelligence of the young people who committed this appalling crime had been put to use in a positive manner, who knows what new concept we could have mastered.  Unfortunately, something went wrong during the adolescent years of these teens and several hundred students were at the door of death.  I can only imagine what the survivors must have to go through every single day they step foot into that building. 

 

It is time for our country to step out of that rut and begin to recognize the difficulties that our young people face in today’s culture. I agree one hundred percent with a statement made in the ‘Consider’ portion of the information packet. “Culture and traditions are man-made.  Children realize our society values money above all.” Then, the question “How might we infuse character and other values in our communities?” is asked.  There is not going to be a clear solution to that inquiry unless we take action and give things a try.  Our resolutions might fail, but that should not discourage the people of this country.  If our country is dedicated to the cause of turning today’s teenagers into adults with morals and values, then everyone needs to unite and become a nation with the morals and values that our society expects the teens to have. 

 

In order to instill some sort of morals and values into our young people, the country needs to start recognizing some of the things that are wrong in our government.  Morality is not letting the leader of our country go without punishment after having an affair with an intern.  What kind of example does that set for young people?  To me, that says, “Go ahead and commit adultery.  It’s just fine.  There’s nothing wrong with that.”  I feel that some of the lack of morality in our society is due to all of the broken marriages.  A great amount of divorces today happen because one partner is being unfaithful to the other.  I’m not saying that one parent can’t properly raise a child, but, the child is definitely better off with two loving parents that can set guidelines for that child. 

 

Another change that would be to society’s benefit would be to not put so much stress on children.  As a junior in high school, I am constantly reminded that in less than two years, I will be off to college, expanding my knowledge so that I can have a magnificent career and make something of myself.  One of the problems with going to college is the number of decisions that I will be forced to make.  For me, this won’t be a problem.  I was fortunate to have an older brother and to be able to look at colleges with him.  I was also blessed with the ability to make decisions.  In the quest for the perfect college for my brother, I was able to visit a campus that I fell in love with.  I know for a fact that most of my classmates have no idea as to where they want to go to college.  Parents and teachers and other people of influence in our lives need to help teenagers decide what direction to go in life. 

 

In conclusion, I think that there are many ways that our teenagers can earn the title of “adult” without a rite of passage.  However, many different solutions should be tried.  Our culture doesn’t require a teenager to spend a week in the barren desert to know that they are an adult.  As a country, we need to acknowledge the fact that all teenagers grow up at their own pace.  Nobody is going to encourage or discourage the rate of maturity.  In the early stages of the teenage years, teens need a role model for encouragement.  Without a support group, the values of teens will be challenged.  Whether or not they make the right decision will be based on the examples that are set for them and the environment in which they have grown up.  A loving household can work wonders for the morality of a teenager.     

 

Questions

 

1.  Margaret Mead’s statement in “Coming of Age in Samoa” that is reminiscent of a current Army recruiting commercial is that young people today are not living up to their current potential.  The Army slogan that parallels this is “Be All You Can Be”.

 

2.  I personally feel that all of the issues listed are issues still today.  Language spoken in the home is still an issue because many adolescents are still conscious of how they speak, such as profanity and other crude remarks.  Familial pressures are still evident because quite a few parents and grandparents still put pressure on their young ones to get good grades and be involved as much as they can.  Some people still have misconceptions about race and color, which would still explain some of the prejudice in today’s society.  Parents today are still separating their children from knowledge of birth, love and death by not explaining the reality of these things to them at a young age.  Therefore, most children are misinformed and find out details from friends, or from television. 

 

3.  Yes, I agree with Margaret Mead’s statement “culture is man-made and that man is free to design it closer to the desires of his own heart.”  Our culture today had been manipulated and shaped throughout the years prior to our existence.  In my dictionary, I find the definition of culture as “a set of attitudes; beliefs a certain group contains.”  Each person has their own beliefs and their own outlook.  Thus, culture changes from person to person. 

 

4.  In Mead’s compositions she was supporting (2) greater knowledge and control over the civilizing process. 

 

5. In Susan’s speech, she believes that students really want adults to recognize what is going on in society today.  My personal feeling is that the basis for young adults choosing to engage in such activities is the lack of attention.  They think that if they create “adult” situations, they will feel more sophisticated and in control of their own destiny.  Actually, that is not the case.  They will find themselves in more trouble and therefore, in “adult” situations that they can’t handle.  Teens today want a certain amount of adult recognition, but they also want to cope with their own created situations in order to feel more responsible. 

 

6.  I have not absolutely positively seen or experienced any of my peers participating in the activities of drugs or alcohol.  However, I do have knowledge that they do engage in such activities.  For example, they return after our lunch period smelling of smoke.

 

7.     A solution for the “plight of the black teenager” would be attitude.  I believe that quite a few of the African-American teenagers look for individuals who will discriminate against them.  If black teenagers would believe in themselves and not let derogatory comments bother them, they might not be the victims of stereotyping. 

 

8.   Yes, it would be an extreme relief if all teenagers had to do was to go to school to learn.  Instead, we have parental pressure to be involved in extracurricular activities and to get the best grades we can.  This sometimes requires teenagers to get a minimal amount of sleep.  I feel that home schooling is not always the answer.  If a parent home-schools a child, most often, they lack social skills, causing problems later in life.  Same-sex schools aren’t always the best way to avoid problems either.  A person that goes to a same-sex school doesn’t know how to interact with a person of the opposite sex. 

 

9.  Pete Seeger’s comment, “Schools are like prisons because they don’t teach you how to live”, is completely correct.  Schools teach teenagers how to be “book smart”.  And, unfortunately, school only appeals to the students that fit into the intellectual “mold” that schools are trying to create.  I wish that I could say that my chemistry will help me when I get out into the “real world”, but the fact is that unless I go into some sort of career regarding chemistry, I might not ever apply my skills again.  More classes incorporating community-based learning would not necessarily help the situation.  The “real world” learning is something that each individual has to learn for him or herself.  It can’t be taught.

 

10.  The “bottom line” section of “A Tribe Apart” is a very true article.  I agree with the statement that every adolescent needs a mentor.  Each teenager needs an older adult to look up to and so that they can learn to model them and hopefully, retain similar values and morals, if of course, the adult is worth of that praise.  It helps to have a support behind you, encouraging you to do your best.  And, when you do reach a certain goal or accomplishment, the mentor makes the teen feel good about them.  I also agree with the comment toward the end:  “We have to reconnect the adolescent community to ours.”  Adults need to realize what the teenagers today have to face.  There is a lot to deal with, and unless the adolescent is a very strong unit, they can’t do it by themselves.