Concordia High School
Concordia, Kansas
Comparing Cultural Rites of Passage
A United States' Rite of Passage
Amy Link
Grade 12
A teen between the ages of 15 to 16
years old stands before a man with a large hat, he is called a bishop. The Bishop says a prayer and makes the sign of the
cross with chrism (holy oil), on the forehead of the teen. (Roman 405) This is the Roman Catholic Church’s form of a
rite of passage, where a child enters adulthood. The
U.S. does not currently have a universal rite of passage like this. In our society we prolong the age of when children
are defined as being adults. For instance as
an adolescent completes puberty and has all the physical signs of being and adult, yet,
society does not except the individual as an adult.
The child is then left with much confusion, which leads to acts of rebellion in
order to prove their adult status. Teens
will try drinking large quantities of alcohol, driving a car as fast as they can, having
sex, and countless other acts of confusion by having a rite of passage, which celebrates a
youth’s triumph into adulthood. If the
U.S. could develop a universal rite of passage, may be then it could eliminate the
attempts of self-infliction.
In some Native American cultures when
a youth reaches a certain age they are sent into the wilderness without any food or water. The youth’s goal is to survive and find a
personal guardian spirit. If the youth is
successful the society celebrates, because now the youth is an adult. (Rite 1) Jewish
societies also have a rite of passage for their youth.
It occurs at the age of twelve for girls and thirteen for boys. The girl’s ceremony is a Bat Mitzvah and the
boys are a Bar Mitzvah. The child recites the
blessings, and his or her Torah portion of the week.
After the ceremony the family and friends of the teen celebrate with a special
meal. (Bar 1)
Most rites of passage have tendencies
to be intertwined with religion of some cultures. The
United States has many religions and that could be the reason not one universal rite of
passage has been developed; however it is highly needed.
A possible suggestion would be a theory involving three steps. One, to complete
high school. The next step is to serve six
months of community service. Finally, the
teen must then take a test on survival skills. To
clarify these more deeply, graduating from high school is vital in today’s society
and should be required in order to be considered an adult.
With this being part of the rules most applicants would be around eight-teen years
old. The six months of community service
would open a youth’s mind to the world. The
service would be spent in white-collar offices as well as jobs with very little prestege. This acts as a work-study program enabling teens
to decide which job atmosphere they prefer. Along
with opening the eyes of teens to the whole world, travel would be involved. Part of the work would be in small towns, cities,
and your hometown. This would allow teens to
gain knowledge of themselves, where they want to live, what job they want, or maybe just
what they do not want. Also, it would benefit
the community. The last part is a test on
survival skills, now not like the Native American’s
test. This is the day when a flat tire
is solved by a cell phone! This test would be
a written multiple choice test on all types of things needed to survive. Such as how to do laundry, what to do in
situations where you feel unsafe, when to pay your bills, how to vote, and many other
things required in daily life. The test would
be administered just like the A.C.T. and S.A.T. are given.
A universal rite of passage for the
U.S. would only work if society excepts it. A
teen must only be seen as an adult after he or she completes the program, otherwise the
dangerous to prove their adult status will continue.
Completion of the program should result in an elaborate celebration, in order to
show pride in the graduates achievement. The
program benefits the community as well. Community
service obviously benefits it. Jobs would be
created, people are needed to administer the tests an organize the community service
venture. All of the steps are workable in any
community.
In this fast paced society children
are sometimes second on their parents agenda. This
leaves children in a state of utter confusion not knowing if they are an adult or a child. By having a universal rite of passage teens can
clearly know what they are. This suggestion
of one for the U.S. may not be perfect but it does have some advantages, if teens will not
be considered an adult until they complete high school there would be less drop outs. Jobs are created and a community is helped. A universal rite of passage could benefit many
but none more than teens struggling to define their role in society.
Works Cited Page
“Bar/Bat
Mitzvah.” The Jewish Holidays. 1999.
Http://collections.ic.gc./art_context/bar.htm
“Rite
of Passage.” Encarta Online Concise. 1999.
Http://encarta.msn.com/find/Concise.asp?ti=01840000
“Roman
Catholic Church.” World Book
Encyclopedia. 1994 ed.
Q1)
What does Margaret Mead say at the start of her 1961 Preface to Coming Of Age In
Samoa that is reminiscent of a current Army recruiting commercial?
“Young
people in the U.S. are becoming less than they might be because we understand so little
about what a difference culture can make in terms of stress and strain, in individual
fulfillment or defeat. In other words teens
are not being all they can be, to quote the U.S. Army’s slogan.
Q2)
Which of the following issues of the 1920’s are no longer issues today?
1. The importance of the language spoken
in the home
2. Familial pressures on children
3. Misconceptions about race and color
4. The effects of artificially separating children from a
knowledge of birth, love and death
During the 1920’s, immigrants coming to America kept their traditions and
culture alive by speaking their native language in their homes. They spoke English at school and work, but when
they were home, speaking their own language somehow kept their heritage alive. It kept them connected to their homeland and
ancestors. This really is not an issue today
because very few families know the language spoken of their ancestors. It has become a lot of tradition.
Q3)
Do you agree with Margaret Mead that “culture is man-made and that man is free
to design it closer to the desires of his heart”?
What definition of “culture” do you find in your dictionary?
Yes,
people’s culture is created by their ideas and beliefs that is the way we have many
different cultures in the world, because their are so many different people. Culture-the development, and refinement of mind
morals, or taste. Way of life.
Q4)
In her writings Margaret Mead was advocating:
1. a return to primitive ways
2. greater knowledge and control over
the civilizing process
3. an integration of the primitive and
civilized
4. none of the above
Margaret Mead’s writings
advocated a greater knowledge and control over the civilizing process. She gave reasons for why cultures formed from man. She also showed how as people civilized their
culture evolved with them.
Q5)
Comment on Susan’s speech (page 60 A Tribe Apart) Do you and your peers
really want adults to recognize what is going on and to enforce “boundaries
and structure”?
Susan’s
speech describe how boundaries and structure make up how people live
and how
people act. Boundaries and structures
established by parents actually
diminish
the amount of stress and pressures teenagers must face.
The boundaries
set
forth by parents can be the excuse used by teenagers to their friends who are
pressuring
them to do things that are wrong and inappropriate. Structure
provides
direction
in a teenagers life and helps eliminate fear, frustration, and doubt. Even
though
teenagers have a mind of their own, they sometimes lose maturity and
experience
to make tough decisions. Structure and
boundaries make decision-
making
easier.
Q6)
Write three things that you “absolutely, positively know, saw or experienced
concerning drugs and alcohol among” students at your school.
I have seen
many of my classmates drink alcohol at parties. A
few students last
year in
my class were busted for having marijuana. I
have even known of a few
classmates
who came to school still intoxicated.
Q7)
Do you have a solution for the “plight of the black teenager”?
The plight of
a black teenager is a very tough road to walk. They
are looked upon as
trouble in the community. The teens
that do succeed in the classroom are mocked by other black teens. It is a lose-lose situation. In the U.S. we have come along way to end
discrimination but the journey is not over! Teenagers
are always followed in stores because they are high risk for shop lifting, it is only
worse if your black. We must recognize black
teens who achieve as amazing individuals. We
need to end the Hip-hop negativity that tells African-Americans they can not succeed. Set up more programs that provide positive mentors
to help teens achieve. As for ending the
discrimination we just have to educate people whites, elderly, and middle-aged people
commit crimes too. You have to take the war
of discrimination one day at a time.
Q8)
Would it be relief if all you had to do was “go to class and learn”? Would you be happy if you were home-schooled or
attended a single-sex private school where academics were presented in and exciting way
and learning was admired even by your peers.
Granted, the outside influences involved with public schools can be a nuisance but
overall it is well worth it. I think that
part of school is to learn how to work with others, even if the people are different than
you. If I was home-schooled or went to an all
girls school some of the outside distractions would be eliminated and would help me learn
more. Yet, I would not learn how to interact
with others unlike me which is something very important in the real world.
Q9)
Comment on the line from Pete Seeger: “Schools are like prisons because they
don’t teach you how to live.” And
Jonathan’s comment “People in school are dulled by the remoteness to the real
world.” Would more classes incorporating
community-based learning be helpful?
Both Jonathan
and Pete are saying that schools teach you facts useless in the real world. Students are subjected to information that is not
practical in the real world. Yes, the schools curriculum can often leave out many
important principles involved in the community that should be taught. However you should not just eliminate everything
they teach, you should integrate the curriculum with community based classes in order to
benefit the students.
Q10)
Comment on the “bottom line” (page 364A Tribe Apart)
“ We have
to reconnect the adolescent community to ours” This
is the main point in this article. Obviously
adolescents in the United States are having problems making healthy life decisions, can
you blame us? We talk to our peers when we
need advise when we should be going to our parents. If
adults and adolescents find a way to open up and communicate in many situations that could
be problems will be solved before there is conflict.