Paoli High School

Paoli, Oklahoma
Teacher: Melinda Alfred

 

 

 

Rite of Passage; Yes or No?

by Julie Travis 

12th grade

 

 

Do the youth of America need a rite of passage into adulthood? I'm not sure, but I know we need some way to clarify the difference between adults and children. However, if there was a way to clarify the difference, what would it be? What age would the youth need to be to complete the rite of passage? Who would enforce it and make sure it was done right? Would there be any exceptions? When discussing a rite of passage many difficult questions arise.

           

If the youth of America were to have a rite of passage, what task or milestone would they need to complete? Maybe the task could be getting a job, getting a driver's license, or finishing high school or college. The milestone may be getting married, having children or getting your own house. In our society each of these tasks and milestones are little rites of passage. They are all supposed to build upon each other, until finally the child is an adult. However, I don't think that any of these tasks or milestones can prove that a person is an adult. I know a sixteen year old girl that is married and has a baby. She is considered an adult because she has completed those milestones. Society doesn't even look at the facts that she doesn't have a high school diploma, a job, or even know the difference between right and wrong. Many people have jobs, a driver's license, and a family, but still don't act like adults.

           

What age group would be involved in a rite of passage is another question. This is the hardest to answer. The legal age for many adult behaviors is eighteen. At that age a person can vote, sign legal papers without a guardian, and can be sent of to war, although the legal age for buying and drinking alcohol is twenty-one. Yet if a child commits a serious crime, the courts can try and punish that child as an adult. But, the child is not declared an adult. He still can't vote, drive a car, or buy alcohol. We also still have to consider the people who are of legal age but do not behave as adults. I know a person who is 36 years old and can not keep a job. She can not support her four kids or go for two weeks without getting in major trouble. So, if we were to have a rite of passage, it should not focus on age.

           

If we had to have a rite of passage into adulthood, it should be some kind of test that would prove the person was responsible enough to handle the details of adult life. The person should be able to take care of himself. He should be able to pay his own bills, live in his own house, drive his own car, keep a job and stay out of trouble. If he could do all of this without help for several months then that person could be considered an adult. Some people could prove that they are responsible at a young age and some people may not ever prove they are responsible. After the person is declared an adult he can enjoy the benefits of adulthood, like voting, getting married, having children, or drinking alcohol.

             

The rite of passage should be enforced by a special court, not a court controlled by the government, but maybe by the community. People who know the person could testify for or against the person. Past pay checks and bills could be evidence. Then the community could make a decision with a vote. The community would take the responsibility serious because they would face the consequences if they declared an irresponsible person an adult.

           

Another question about a rite of passage is if there would be any exceptions. Long term illness would be one exception. Another exception would include life-altering injuries that would make it impossible for a person to take care of himself.  Any other serious problems that would make a person unable to deal with the details of adult life would also be considered as an exception. In other words, if a person is physically unable to take care of themselves, but can still prove they are responsible, they should still have the right to vote, get married, and have children.

           

If the youth of America were to have a rite of passage into adulthood a lot of difficult questions would have to be answered. Society would have to look at the world today and decide the best way to determine how to carry out a rite of passage. However, I  a person's age, the milestone they have completed, or the tasks they have overcome should have anything to do with the decision of who should and who shouldn't be consider an adult.

 

Questions

 

1. She says "becoming less then they might be" and the Army says "Be all you can be"

 

2. I think that they are all still issues

 

3. Yes, Culture-The act of developing intellectual and moral faculties.

 

4. none of the above

 

5. I think that the young people in this world have a very crazy life that is full of stress and chaos. If the adults would get involved and set us

boundaries maybe we wouldn't be so stressed out.

 

6. a) kids get drunk at lunch and come back to school

   b) kids come to school high and don't care if they get caught.

   c) kids come to school bragging about how they got high and drunk the night before and have a hang over.

 

7. I fell that a little bit of racism is in everyone And i fell that the only way we are going to lose that is to stop feeling hatred toward people that are different than us.

 

8. no and no, If we just went to class and learned out of a book we would learn only book smarts and not "street" smarts ( that the kind of smarts we need to survive).

 

9. I don't think so because I learn a lot about life in school. I  think I learn about the stress and responsibility of life. I also don't think we get dulled at all, however I'm not in the real world so maybe I don't know.

 

10. We all need some one to look up to .