Joliet Central High School
Joliet, Illinois
Teacher:
by Pedro Melesio
Grade 11
A fifteen year old boy goes to a party, gets drunk, gets high, and has sex with some girl he does not know and cares nothing about. He thinks he just had the greatest night of his life. He thinks he is a man. He has no clue that his true test of manhood will come in two weeks when the girl tells him she is pregnant. How he handles this will test his maturity, manhood, and acceptance of personal responsibility. He could be a punk and say the child is not his and leave the girl alone with their mistake. Or he could do the right thing and sacrifice his own hopes and dreams and concentrate on his new responsibility: the health and safety of his child. Assuming the girl wants to go through with the birth. That would be her decision and test of responsibility.
The way we react to our decisions and mistakes is what helps us grow and mature. Things do not always go the way we plan them, but our reaction to those situations is the most important thing. Some cannot handle it when things do not go right. They turn to drugs, alcohol, and even suicide. Others show the maturity to handle things as they come take responsibility for their actions. There is a third group of people who will just blow it off and let someone else clean up their mess.
This is why it would be impossible to initiate a rite of passage for everyone to follow. There are too many different people out there. Some people do share the same values, but there reactions to situations would still be very different.
A rite of passage has to come naturally to an individual. A society could help this person to make sure he reacts in the correct way but they cannot be positive that he will listen to them. This worked in primitive times because children did not know any better and they just followed what their parents said. They were not exposed to other things because they were not allowed. They were never really given a chance to think for themselves. Children now have to decide what is best for themselves and their loved ones.
Some do not experience a rite of passage. Either they missed it or they were never allowed to experience anything for themselves. They always had someone holding their hand. These people do not grow or mature. They grow physically but mentally they are still children. They start to take part in the so-called adult activities that they can’t handle. They start to drink, smoke, and have sex with numerous partners. Then when they get into trouble and no one is there to help them they get themselves into more trouble. They tried to coast through life without thinking for themselves and in the end they get burned.
Becoming a true adult is a process. A long and hard process filled with decisions and different situations. Some pass, others fail, but they are still allowed to grow up whether hey are mature enough to handle it or not. Some children are more mature then some adults, but they are not allowed to prove it because the adult uses his age to keep the child quiet. Some adults think that when they reach a certain age they have power, respect, and if they do not get it then they begin to argue with the youth. All they do is bring themselves down to the child’s level and sometimes even lower. Who is the child in this situation? This is true of a few teachers I have encountered at this school. They think they are the all-mighty adults and they do not have to listen to you. Their word is final.
I am not saying that some adults do not deserve respect. Some of them don’t even get it, but these adults are the ones that could change your attitude and life. They were once young and they had their rite of passage and can somewhat understand what your situation is. These adults would allow you to explain yourself and they would really listen to what you have to say. They can’t solve them, but they can give you some guidance. Adults like these are not hard to find, but they are sometimes not trusted by the youth if the youth already had a bad experience with another adult.
Today’s youth does not need someone to tell them what to do. We need guidance and direction. We need suggestions, not commands. We do not need a community thought of rite of passage that everyone must go through. If something like that was enforced then I believe you would see more rebellious action then you have ever seen before. The thing a teenager hates most is being forced into something by some adult. We should be allowed to make our own decisions because we are the ones that have to live with them. Just kind of point us in the right direction, stay off our backs, and just hope and pray that we react to situations in the correct way and grow to become respectable adults to guide the next generation.
1. She says that young people in America are becoming less then they might be. This is reminiscent of the Army commercial that says be all you can be.
2. I think importance of language spoken in the home is no longer an issue. It’s just one of those things that you as an individual have to figure out. You can’t let anybody influence the way you talk.
3. I agree totally with her. If man doesn’t design culture then who does. Well I guess that man doesn’t design it but communities of mankind design culture to fit them more. Culture is defined as ideas, skills, arts, customs, etc. of a people or group that are transferred, communicated, or passed along as in or to succeeding generations.
4. She wanted a return to primitive ways. Throughout her writing she spoke of how well their system worked and how she knew their society would be wiped out by the new way.
5. No, I don’t think boundaries should be set. That would ruin everything for the kids who are working hard to succeed. They may not be able to grow to their full potential because they may not be allowed to.
6. I’ve never actually seen drugs in the school but a classmate was chewing tobacco in class and spitting out the window. The teacher had no clue. Another fellow student was suspended because he smelled like marijuana. Sorry, but these are my only experiences.
7. There is no solution to that. You can’t change the way a lot of people think. Stereotypes are a part of our society. They are wrong but they are still accepted everywhere. We all have them we just have to overcome them.
8. Why if? Isn’t learning what school is for. What else is there to do. Being home schooled or being in a single sex environment may limit your thinking of other cultures.
9. I agree with Seeger. About half of what we learn could be applied in real life situations. Classes that specialize in that kind of thing would be very popular in schools.
10. That could not be truer. A kid will only listen to you if you have their respect. If you don’t they may pretend they’re listening but they’re not.