There is a time that  every American adolescent must go through, and that is the teenage years. This is a time that is most difficult for the adolescent. It brings changes in puberty, mood swings, parental separation, and the most important freedom. Most teenagers find the true meaning of themselves during this period of time.  This is a period of time that allows the adolescent a chance to explore new heights and what they call, “live and learn by their mistakes.” They might find their first love, get into athletics, or just plain find out what life is all about.  The most important part though, is the right of freedom to express themselves and get separation from their parents. This might all sound great, but it is time for local communities to initiate a right of passage for the American youth.

The American youth is not the same as it once used to be. Back in the 1920’s teenagers were well mannered, cooperative, and less opinionated. Teenagers today are less cooperative, more opinionated, and not as well mannered. The cause of most problems comes from how they were raised and treated at home. Unfortunately, a lot of parents have jobs requiring a lot of time to complete those tasks. The effect of this situation is less quality and family time with their kids. Families don’t have enough time to sit down with their kids and give them their attention. Therefore, teenagers today are not being all they can be.

The culture of America has been stereotyped as, “the culture for incompetent people.  This culture has many strong points, but unfortunately the bad points are overruling the good points. The number one cause of the bad points is the media. The media will take any little incident and make it into the biggest incident of the year. And most of the time these incidents are teenage related incidents. That is what gives the teenager a bad name.  The fact of the matter is that it really wasn’t a big crime at all, but the media made it sound like it was really horrifying and unpleasant. 

Adults need to realize that they were once teenagers also and to remember what they did growing up. The issue of drugs and alcohol come up a lot in the American culture.  Adults need to recognize that teenagers do need to be educated in these issues, but not over teach with these issues. If adults preach and preach to these teenagers, the teenagers are more likely to go out and experiment with drugs and alcohol around the adult’s back.  If adults think that there is no problem out there concerning drugs and alcohol, they need to open their eyes and wake up. The issue of drugs and alcohol is out there and it must be controlled.  Another issue in the American culture is racism.  No matter how hard people try to say they aren’t racists, deep down most people know they are. For example, if a black teenager is hanging out with another black teenager in a mall, a white person will probably be more cautious of those kids, fearing that they will try to do something to them. We live in a culture that will always have racists ideas. That is real unfortunate, but it is the truth.

School has an important role in how teenagers cope with every day situations. The problem is that peer pressure is holding down a lot of bright teenagers from doing well in school.  For example, if a student doesn’t study for a test and he comes to school and asks another student if he had studied, and the other student says no, the first student thinks its ok because he gets the impression that everyone doesn’t study. There is so much peer pressure out there these days its unbelievable. It would be awesome if all you had to do was go to class and learn. With peer pressure your not cool unless you look a particular way, act a particular way, or even hang out with the “cool crowd.”  If you could just go to school and learn, that would take around at least 60% of the stress of a person.

In conclusion, adults need to learn how to talk to teenagers. If they get a good relationship with the teenager, that is half of the battle right there. If adults respect teenagers, then teenagers will respect the adults in return. The problem is that most adults don’t respect teenager’s decisions and choices. They think that its just another teenager talking and his “two cents worth” doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that teenagers do need a little change in their lives, but adults must give teenagers a chance to talk and to give their own opinion, in return teenagers will respect adults and give them a little more attention.

Questions to answer after completing the required reading

1.      Margaret Mead says at the start of her 1961 Preface to Coming of Age In Samoa that is reminiscent of the Army recruiting commercial is that teenagers are not being all they can be, in relations with her preface.

2.      I think all of these issues of the 1920’s are still issues today.  They are, the      importance of the language spoken in the home, familial pressures on children, misconceptions about   race and color, and the effects of artificially separating children from a knowledge of   birth, love and death.  We are getting so many minorities in the rural communities, and lots of schools around this area have to put up with at least two to three languages in school.  Families do pressure children especially in academics and athletics.  Race and color is still a big issue in the communities today.

3.      I do 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.  The definition of "culture” that is in my dictionary is that the cultures is your own beliefs and ideas.  You can control your culture however you want to.  You can also design it anyway that you want to.  A person's ideas and his or her own beliefs.

4.      In her writings Margaret Mead was advocating greater knowledge and control over the civilizing process.

5.      I think adults really need to recognize that teenagers do need to be educated in issues, but not over teached with those issues.  If parents preach and preach to these kids the kids are more likely to go out and rebel around their backs.

6.      Three things that I positively saw concerning drugs and alcohol among students at school would be a good friend drunk at a party, an alcoholic beverage at school, and the passing of pot at school.

7.      I don’t think there will ever be a solution for the “plight of the black teenager”, because no matter how hard people try to say they aren’t racists, deep down they know they are.  If a black teenager is hanging out with another black teenager in a mall, people will be more cautious of those kids, fearing that they will try to do something to them.  We live in a culture that will always have racists ideas.  That is real unfortunate but it is the truth.

8.      I think it would be awesome if all you had to do was go to class and learn.  There is so much peer pressure out there these days its unbelievable.  Your not cool unless you look a particular way, act a particular way, or even hang out with the “cool crowd”.  If you could just go to school and learn that would take around at least 60% of the stress of a person.

9.      I think schools do need to involve more classes that deal with the real world, and about life in general.  But I don’t think that school are like prisons because we are not locked up.  I guess by the time you reach the high school level you shouldn’t have to rely on the school to give you community-based classes.  That is a responsibility that you must intake and do by yourself.

10.  I think that adults need to know how to talk and learn how to talk to there kids.  If they get a good relationship with their kids, that is half the battle right there.  If adults respect teenagers, then teenagers will respect the adults in return.  The problem is that most adults don’t respect teenagers decisions and choices.  They think that its just another teenager talking and his “two cents” doesn’t matter.  The bottom line is that if adults give teenagers a chance to talk and give their own opinion then teenagers will respect adults a little more.