Newell-Fonda High School
Newell, Iowa
Teacher: Connie Doonan

 

 

Saving Our Youth

By Rhett Bruner

12th Grade

 

           

Are today's youth more unprepared for the challenges that lie ahead of them then those from past generations?  Many people believe kids are more unprepared than ever before.  In past times kids had jobs that had meaning in adult society.  Now it seems as if kids are raised in an environment that hides them from the real world that they will soon be catapulted into.  The idea of a rite of passage into the adult world has great merit as to steering youth in the correct direction.  They are all too often initiating themselves with drugs, alcohol, and other dangerous activities that are wrongfully portrayed as adult acts.  However, forcing an adolescent into a rite of passage will only create more problems.  Kids do not like the idea of being forced to do anything.  This will only cause more rebellion at a time when a little rebellion is natural.  Instead, parents should try to emphasize to their kids the importance of a wake up call to reality.

 

In a personal experience of my own, I have found myself in need of a rite of passage.  With my senior year now reaching the final semester, I have found that I do not know what to expect in the adult world.  I have found it easy to avoid serious thoughts about my future in my previous three years of high school.  It always seemed so distant and unimportant.  Now I feel as if everyday I make more decisions that will decide what I will do in the future.  The idea of adulthood so near in the future has left me doubting every choice I make.  Hearing so many people tell me I need to pick a major only adds pressure in deciding what I want to do for the rest of my life, and it makes me even more confused about my future career.  I feel too young and naive to make such a decision and wonder if it stems from my lack of experience in the real world.  With these decisions plaguing me everyday, I decided to make a decision and initiate a rite of passage on myself.  Coming from a military family, I decided to join the National Guard.  This was not anyone's decision but my own.  My father said the choice was totally up to me.  Although money for college was a big reason, I felt the biggest reason was that it made me feel as though I had a value in society.  I think eighteen weeks of boot camp will instill in me a feeling of discipline and maturity.  This is my rite of passage into the adult world.

           

A rite of passage is an important way to make youths feel like they belong to the adult world.  However, it is difficult to make adolescents understand this importance.  In order for parents to convey this message to their children, they need a strong relationship with them.  A kid will put no stock in the words of someone that they don't believe cares about them.  A problem many parents have with their kids is the denial of the world their children live in.  They either don't realize or are afraid to confront the fact that their children are constantly being exposed to alcohol, drugs, and sex.  They find it much easier to believe that it couldn't be their kid.  This mentality pushes their children away from them.  A kid will not come to their parents about any of these matters because their children's real situation is oblivious to them.  Consequently, it makes teenagers unable to express their problems and feelings to adults.  This misunderstanding between adolescents and adults causes a tension that hinders communication between the two.  Parents need to show concern and a willingness to listen to their children's real problems.  Although these relationships are hard to build, they will allow both sides to express their feelings, and the parent will be able to better influence the choices their children make.

 

Today's culture has made it easy for adolescents to fall off track.  It is easy for a kid to turn to drugs, alcohol, and other things that are rotting our society.  That is why it is more important now than ever before that parents have a relationship with their children so that they can understand their problems.  Often a parents advice can help a kid to make a decision that could change their life.  That is why a rite of passage is a way to get kids to reach adulthood without falling into a world that could ruin their life.

 

Questions

 

A-1 She says that too many people don’t follow their dreams and in turn never reach their full potential.  The Army says you should “be all you can be” and there is more to that slogan then people often realize.

 

A-2 The issue of artificially separating children from a knowledge of birth, love and death is no longer an issue today.  I believe that children today are not deceived about these subjects, and they should be told the truth.

 

A-3 I agree that culture is man-made and that everyone has a slightly different culture.  You should remember that you don’t always have to follow the norm and should be your own person.  My definition of culture is everything you do, wear, and what you think.

 

A-4 She advocates a greater knowledge and control over the civilizing process because she believes we shouldn’t go along with anything because everyone else does and we should following our own feelings.

 

A-5 I believe we want them to know what is going on, and we think that they often pretend not to know what is going on.  However, I don’t think we want them to know everything and we feel like we need our space.

 

A-6 I have never actually seen a person doing drugs.  I do feel like I have been fortunate in the people that I am around, but I also think that you need to surround yourself with the right people.  I have seen people abusing alcohol and they have never pressured me to drink.  I respect a person a lot if they let me make up my mind.

 

A-7 I don’t have a solution.  I am not a black person.  It is hard to understand their situation if you aren’t living in it.  If a solution was that simple they wouldn’t have a problem.

 

A-8 If all you do is go to class and learn, you will soon become bored.  In order to keep kids attention, you must keep things interesting.  I believe home schooling is harmful to a kids social skills.  They need to meet different people.

 

A-9 I don’t believe schools are prisons.  I enjoy school and I have choices as to what I want to learn in school.  I think that schools prepare us for the real world, but I can’t say for sure because I’ve never lived in the real world.

 

A-10 I think that it is very true that a kid needs a mentor or someone who will listen and care about what you are saying.  If there isn’t that feeling of a relationship, then a kid will not tell that person how he truly feels.