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

 

 

A Change In Time

By Tammy Kier

12th Grade

 

 

Over the years, kids have been given the impression that adults do not care what they say and do.  As a result teenagers feel as though they have all the freedom in the world.  Several factors are influencing teens today to make the choices they do.  The main point expressed in this essay is to develop a good parent - kid relationship.  It may be possible that family values and trust could be established to form a close, understanding between the family.

 

 Teenagers today have several key factors that influence their decisions in the world. No good role models have been displayed for some kids to follow.  The lack of parental vision in a kid s life has dropped considerably.  Very few parents know exactly what their teen is doing on unsupervised nights.  The entertainment industry plays a huge role in a person s life.  The access to the Internet is widely used all over the world, as are violent video games or computer games.  Movies today are being rated PG13 with the portrayal of guns, killings, murders, rape, vulgar language and much more.  The entertainment industry is getting away with more than they should.  Kids even get to see adult men beat each other up and get public attention for their acts, WCW.

 

With those list of factors, and many more unlisted, they do not give teens today an excuse for any of their actions.  Some teenagers today use vulgar language, consume drugs and alcohol while in the presence of their home.  Parents and kids have less contact than ever before, which results in more bad habits, low self-esteem or self-concept, a poor attitude towards others and themselves, and less time spent with the family. Society has been hearing of too many school shootings, bombings, mass murders, and bomb threats by teens all over the world.  The real question that comes to mind when hearing those is why  isn’t society cracking down on tougher laws and enforcement?  Teen s rebellious attitudes have grown considerably over the years.  Therefore, that should give the reinforcers more of a reason to help control the outburst of problems coming from the millions of teens in the world.

 

Schools need to reinforce family values and the true concept of trust. Without trust and following family values, kids are stuck in the middle of nowhere.  The open-campus privileges in schools need to have stricter guidelines for students to follow to prevent mishaps from happening.  Even the possibility of a parent - kid night class once a week could be available to counsel or to help families who are growing apart.  Several possibilities can be met if society really wants to get to the meat of our teens and adults problems.  Both parent and kid need to be willing to give anything a chance to decrease the growing number of violent-related problems, drug-related problems, distant family problems and any other associated problems.  Everything is at everyone’s fingertips.  It is  about reaching out and grabbing hold of what counts.

 

The community needs to reach out to teens today.  If adults take the time to get to know or understand kids today, then it could be possible that kids will not feel as rejected and unaccepted in society as they already do.  Adults ridicule kids on appearance and gather the opinion that if they look bad and tough, then they are all trouble.  Adults need to give teens a chance and not put all teens into one category.  Every single teen is different, in some way or another, and judging the majority of them will not help with creating a connection between the two.  Both adults and teenagers need to take a look at both sides and see the whole picture rather than a portion of it.

 

Failure is accepted in all forms and shapes.  One of many things that parents, teachers, friends, or just adults in general have always questioned kids about is what they are going to be when they grow up. Maybe that question came about to let kids set a goal for themselves and strive for that and nothing less.  One negative outcome that is reflected upon the questioning is the feeling of failure and not wanting to let anyone down.  Everyone learns on mistakes and accidents.  It shows a trial and error learning.  If a person makes a huge mistake, and the first thing that comes out of their mouth is, Man, I will never do that again, consequently, they have learned from it,  whether or not it was fun or easy.  Failure is learnable and expected when being a human being, it s part of nature.

 

When both parents and kids can talk freely about anything then they have established a great parent - kid relationship.  Getting to that point is something many people hope to achieve.  It basically comes from effort, trust, and love.  It is a real accomplishment when both parent and kid feel comfortable and completely honest with each other.  If adults reach out and express interest and concern in teens   lives it may be possible that teens will get interested in the adults  lives also.  It is a two-way street and anything is achievable for both adults and kids.  With a little guidance and support teenagers can be headed in their right direction for their future, and overcome any obstacles from their rite of passage.