McLeansboro High School
McLeansboro, Illinois
Teacher: Kenneth Kirkpatrick

 

Rites of Passage: the Road to Adulthood
by Lori Kirsch

 

 

Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary defines an “adult” as a person who is “fully developed and mature; grown-up”.  Still, the concept of adulthood is hard to grasp.  At what age is one considered to be mature or developed?  Many societies mark the onset of adulthood at puberty, with the presumption that people who are old enough to reproduce are old enough to assume parental and other adult responsibilities.  Others claim it is the age at which a person can drive a car, vote, be drafted for military service, smoke a cigarette, drink or purchase alcohol, get married, or have an abortion without parental consent, just to name a few rites of passage.  It is obvious, though, that people mature and develop at various ages. “Pinning down the threshold to adulthood is about as difficult as pinning Jell-O to a wall” . However abstract it may be, modern America acknowledges the transition period from childhood into adulthood as a stage called “adolescence.”  Because every community in America has established rites of passage to help adolescents successfully merge into what they consider to be “adulthood”, it is unnecessary to initiate additional rites of passage.

           

A rite of passage is the crossing of a symbolic threshold from one life stage to the next, in most cases, from childhood to womanhood or manhood .  Entering an unfamiliar environment and taking on new responsibilities can be stressful for adolescents.  Rites of passage enable them to smoothly progress through the various stages of life.

           

Broken down, a rite of passage consists of four major elements.  The initiate is set apart from general society for a significant period of time.  Elders instruct the initiate and offer him advice and secrets from past experiences.  A transition occurs as the initiate passes from one stage to another.  Finally, the initiate is welcomed back into society with acknowledgement of his changed status.

           

Many societies around the world conduct extravagant ceremonies for youth as they pass into adulthood.  These ceremonies are often ancient rites of passage that hold a deep spiritual meaning for the people who participate in them. They go to great lengths provide what they feel is a necessary and proper passage for adolescents into adulthood.  Anglo-American society performs rites of passage, although they tend to be subtler than those of other cultures.  In the midst of all the hustle and bustle of American life, people often fail to recognize the established rites that are beneficial and necessary for the country’s youth.  Although these rites of passage may seem somewhat insignificant, they play a major role in an adolescent’s transition to adulthood.

           

For example, laws regarding mandatory school attendance and the organization of the educational system into age grades serve as isolation periods for adolescents from the rest of society.  The obligation to spend the day together in a common environment leads to a tendency for adolescents to socialize among themselves and learn to work in a group.  During the high school years, the adolescents are supervised and instructed by teachers and other faculty who act as elders or initiators.

           

Teens take on new responsibilities when they receive their driver’s license.    This rite usually occurs between the ages of sixteen and eighteen and serves as a major step toward their independence from parents.  The Driver Education instructor acts as the initiator who prepares the adolescent for real-life behind-the-wheel situations.  The adolescent spends a significant amount of time learning the rules of the road and studying for the final test that must be passed in order to acquire a license.

           

In America, one is deemed an adult by law at age eighteen.  At this age, people are generally able to make their own decisions without parental consent. They gain certain privileges such as the right to vote and purchase cigarettes and lottery tickets. Eighteen-year-olds are responsible for their own actions and are tried as adults in a court of law.  Males of age eighteen are required to register for the draft.

 

The most recognized rite of passage in American culture is high school graduation. It is sometimes a very emotional experience for teens because it signifies the end of childhood school years and the beginning of independence and adult responsibilities.  The graduates are dressed in traditional robes and individually recognized during a structured ceremony.  Elders give speeches congratulating the students and welcoming them into adulthood.

 

All too often, adolescents feel the need to “find themselves.”  As a reaction to confusion, youths often withdraw from parents and adult figures causing them to “initiate” themselves.  “First times” are often an attempt to initiate oneself or to be initiated by peers.  They are normally characterized by a premature attempt to imitate adult behavior such as smoking, drinking, or engaging in sexual activity. “…today’s kids would just as likely herald in adulthood with a beer or joint”.

Self-initiation is rarely a substantial rite of passage because of its lack of structure.  Adolescents execute these rites in isolation from general society in order to avoid punishment and scorn.  Therefore, the change in status can only be acknowledged by peers, thus eliminating the legitimacy of these rites.  Without the participation of elders, the initiated are not afforded the wisdom of past generations and are unable to gain a view of themselves as part of a greater pattern.

 

The definition of adulthood will always be disputable.  Although each individual society has its own opinion of when a child becomes an adult, they all share a common thread.  They incorporate rites of passage to aid youth in their advancement through life and promote their success by any means possible.  America has a long history of providing sufficient rites of passage for its youth.  Therefore, it is unnecessary to further incorporate rites of passage.

 

 

Questions to the Required Reading

 

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?

It states that young people in the America were “becoming less than they might be…” This is reminiscent of the Army’s slogan, “Be all that you can be!”

 

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

The effects of artificially separating children from a knowledge of birth, love and death

All of the above are still issues, although they may be more or less severe in present-day America.  These issues will never be completely resolved, and will continue to effect generations to come.

  

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 own heart”?  

            Culture is man-made, but once tradition is established, it is difficult to accommodate it to the wants and desires of the individual.  Societies have certain standards and values they expect their people to uphold, and individuals that do not fit that “mold” are viewed as outcasts.  Trying to change tradition would most likely prove to be disastrous.

  

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

none of the above

Margaret Mead was advocating greater knowledge and control over the civilizing process.

 

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”?

            Most teens would like to live their lives with minimum intervention from their parents, who they view as “out of touch” and “living in the past.”  Teens do need boundaries and structure in their lives, though.  Without guidance during their most critical years, adolescents will lead themselves to self-destruction. 

 

Q6.  Write three things that you “absolutely, positively know, saw or experience concerning drugs and alcohol among” students at your school.

            Alcohol abuse is clearly a problem among students at my high school.  Even in our small, sheltered town in rural Illinois, there are only a small handful of teens who have not experimented with alcohol at some point or another.  I have witnessed firsthand the destructive effects alcohol has on teenagers.  Many times I have seen my friends passed out on the ground at parties from consuming too much alcohol.  I have a friend that lost his license because he was pulled over while driving under the influence.  I even know a boy that was hit by a drunk driver.  Drug abuse is a minor problem at my school, although is tends to be less prevalent than alcohol abuse.      

 

Q7.  Do you have a solution for the “plight of the black teenager”? page 88 A Tribe Apart)

I don’t believe there will ever be a solution to racial problems in America.  In recent years, people have become more accepting of other races, but some still retain too much hate for prejudice to ever be completely eliminated.  

 

Q8.  Would it be a relief if all you had to do was “go to classes and learn”?  Would you be happy if you were home-schooled or attended a single-sex private school where academics were presented in an exciting way and learning was admired by even peers?

            I like to have a balance between academic and social aspects of school.  For me, learning is easier and more enjoyable when I am surrounded by familiar people.  I would not be happy if I were home-schooled or attending a single-sex school simply because I like to have variety in my life.  The guys, the girls, the “jocks”, the “brains”—they all add their own “spice” to the student body at my school.  That’s what makes every day interesting and unpredictable. 

 

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 incorporation community-based learning be helpful? (incorporating activities with relevance to actual real life situations)

            Schools do a fairly good job at teaching students how to live.  Mastering rigorous courses and completing assignments instills in students a sense of responsibility and prepares them for jobs in the workplace.  Students also develop social and leadership skills by working and solving problems with their peers.  People in school are not isolated from the world.  Most high schools offer service clubs to get students involved in their community.  Incorporating more of these organizations would benefit today’s youth.

 

Q10.  Comment on the “bottom line” (page 364 A Tribe Apart)

            I agree that adults need to get involved in the lives of today’s youth.  Teens are often neglected and left to do as they please because working parents “just don’t seem to have time for their children anymore.”   Adults have already experienced the pressures of adolescent life and need to offer guidance and advice to teens.