Cool At 13 Adrift At 23 Summary

Teenage years are some of the toughest years a person may go through, on account of it being all about the mindset and trying to fit in. The teen years or rebel years, is usually spent in the mall with friends with the endeavor to get away with stealing, drinking or doing drugs by the authorities. Basically, doing such acts that one knows is forbidden, however if you get away with it, gives you a feeling of having great power over authority figures. Lasn states, “One day you act drunk and trick them into “arresting” you- only this time it actually is soda in the can. You are immensely pleased with yourself (379)”. In the rebellious years, getting the authorities to believe one accomplished something bad, gives this feeling,

In modern-day society, there are numerous people who take pleasure in separating themselves from the typical standards of society; however, there are also people who feel uncomfortable expressing themselves in the own, distinctive ways. Because they feel this way, many adolescents believe that by camouflaging themselves into their peer’s behaviors and beliefs that they will fit in with social norm, accepted beliefs and behaviors in a social group or society, and the reason why they have this mentality, is because of the lack of confidence to express their ideas in their own unique ways. The belief that students and kids have to live up to social norms, are implemented on them by social influences, more specifically, their peers.

Having to be exactly like their peers is the goal of many people. People may feel left out or forgotten if they do not participate in the common activities of others. Drugs, smoking, drinking, and partying are many extracurricular activities that many teens across the world participate in and struggle with. Peer pressure and the urge to want to be like others get the most of people. The common “good” kids often feel the need to participate in these activities so they feel a sense of acceptance. But this is not limited to only teens; even adults can “follow the crowd.” Whether it is buying the newest car or television, doing drugs, or dropping out of college, these activities can all come with disastrous consequences. Following the crowd can

In “Tweens: Ten Going on Sixteen,” Kay S. Hymowitz points out that in modern society kids mature too early, creating a negative trend called “tween phenomenon”; it occurs when kids become teenagers at a young age and skip preadolescence. According to Hymowitz, the evidence presents a troubling picture of tweens who are too concerned with their looks, are involved in criminal activities, are having sex, are doing drugs, and are consuming alcohol. She provides evidence to exemplify tweendom’s negative influence on both the tweens and the world around them. The author concludes that media, absentee parents, and peers are among the several complex causes of the negative trends of tweens. Although Hymowitz may sound excessively cynical, she states a reasonable case that should be considered by parents, educators, and psychologists. Without a doubt, the three most negative behavioral trends of many tweens are their need for attention, their peer group pressure, and most importantly, their unawareness of the consequences for their irresponsible actions.

The book Watership Down by Richard Adams, is a story that was once told to his children and has been put into a novel. The book shows us the ups and downs during a journey of many rabbits. These rabbits talk in their own language and embark on a crazy journey to a new land. Sandleford is the current home of the rabbits and their journey will take them to Cowslips Warren, there part time home. We will focus on life in Sandleford, the life in Cowslips Warren and the individual rabbits who chose to go on this journey together.

“In our media-intensive culture it is not difficult to find differing opinions… The difficulty lies in deciding which opinion to agree with and which ‘experts’ seem the most credible” (Espejo 11). The perceptions of one age group in society of another age group are built upon assumptions that are made through what is visible. However, rarely is anyone willing to understand the reason behind someone’s actions. Sibling rivalry, the death of a loved one, moving to a new school, competition among peers, and the reputation adolescents have today often end up giving a misperception of society to teens and of teens to society, thus damaging the relationships between society, as illustrated by J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye.

Botstein starts his argument by stating the various parts of the high school experience that are harmful and pointless to students. The first is the “untouchable” category which consists of coaches and high school athletes whose exclusive ranking is based off of the team’s success rather than their own educational achievements. Secondly, Botstein addresses teachers and curriculum that “hold so little sway” over the minds and attitudes of students, since the average student is constantly worried about growing up, popularity, and their friend groups. Next, Botstein claims that the “primary reason” high schools are flawed and broken is that the teens in the twentieth century era are maturing “substantially earlier” than in the past decades. Lastly, Botstein develops a new method for teenager’s education experience by eliminating the 10th through 12th grades, permanently making high school obsolete. If Botstein’s plan is achieved, teenagers will have many different options to choose after their secondary schooling. Students would be able

Let me start off by saying this reading really opened up my eyes. It’s crazy that there is so much that comes into consideration when being apart of a society. High school is a big part of many people’s lives, they need to make it out big in the hallways. This means that people will do anything in their power just to fit in with the “cool kids”. In reality there is such a thing of a higher status and a lower status, but the fact that in high schools it’s a huge problem is sad. When I was in high schools, which wasn’t that long ago, this was a big problem. People needed to have the hottest clothes, shoes, phones, and music, in order to just be recognized. The funny thing is was that, the “nerds” were very high in demand as well. The cool kids wanted to be on their side as

It is sad to see how these teenagers think of themselves as being cool because of the activities they choose to do, when they each see how it is making them live a shorter life and none of them are doing a thing about it. Life is worth more than feeling cool. Proverbs says, “Since they hated knowledge…the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them” (Proverbs 1:29a, 32). The teenagers in “We Real Cool” have an image of their selves as being cool on the outside because of the badly behaved things they are taking part in and want others to think them as being cool. These teenagers want to think that they are cool for doing the things they do, but they know that the destructive life they live will soon be a factor to their deaths. Brooks demonstrates in “We Real Cool” that even though people acknowledge their own behavior and think of themselves as being cool, their destructive ways will be a part of their short lives and none of their coolness will ever matter again.

Do you ever look back on your good old high school yearbook pictures and say to yourself “what in the world was I thinking?” You often catch yourself wanting to hide it or rip the picture frame off the wall that your mom once proudly put up. You find it hanging on relative’s refrigerators, or being the topic of laughter on holidays. Trends throughout the years often change. Many of these changes happen quickly. One week something is “in” then the next week it is totally “out”. Imagine having to go back to school 10-15 years after graduating and trying your best to fit and blend in with the teenagers of that time period. In the movie, 21 Jump Street, that is what they attempted to do. The movie is starring Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill. It’s about two police officers who are forced to relive their high school days. They are assigned to go undercover as high school students to prevent the outbreak of a new synthetic drug and capture its supplier. An “honor roll geek” and “athletic underachiever” work together to fight crime and form an inseparable friendship while doing so. The police officers are forced to gain the mindset of a teenager. They have to learn how to fit in and interact with others during that time period. They realize that some of the things that were once “cool” are no longer as cool as they once thought they were. This movie features various different stereotypes in high school. Styles have changed, along with attitudes, and new clicks have formed. The

Kids are always looking for the popularity because they need friends and I don’t know anybody who could live through childhood without any friends. There are other kids who feel like they don’t fit in with society so they become rebels.

The desire to fit in with peers can be a very strong influence on teens.

“The Breakfast Club” characterizes this phenomena by depicting the “jock, the brain, the basketcase, the princess, and the juvenile delinquent”. In the movie each character is representative of the social class to which they belong. The “jock” signifies the sports star that can do no wrong, but the movie character bullies another boy and when caught all he received was detention. Although on the other hand the delinquent who is a dope smoking, foul mouthed punk, received the same punishment for talking back to a teacher. Administrators and teachers are very quick to meet out severe punishment to those students that they have deemed worthless, while good kids get a slap on the wrist. The movie’s jock is placed in Saturday detention, instead of being suspended, so that he may wrestle in an upcoming tournament; a case in which Hollywood makes an accurate depiction. This is the “holding of power” that Wehlage and Rutter spoke about in their study, High School and Beyond. Students who receive better treatment seem to do better in school when subjected to “an orderly environment, a committed and caring faculty, and an emphasis on academic pursuits”(Nieto,100).

Children become rule based and listen when spoken to. School plays a large part in this since teacher educate kids to listen, sit down quietly and work in small , in the future will be vital for real life work in adulthood.("Stages of Growth Development," 1898-1987). In this stage of life Piaget’s cognitive theory comes into play. Children in this stage in life are more concrete operational, meaning that they deal with visible, tangible things. They become more systematic. Peer relationships and best friend are crucial at this stage, this helps children have deeper relationships while heading into adolescence and can help determine if they will be able to hold a relationship as adults (Stassen Berger, 2009). Social trend, such as violence, eating disorders and even drug use are seen more readily in ages seven to twelve years old. This increasing pressure in schools to recognize the problem and develop more activities such as sports, music, and social events to help children stay active and away from drug use, this eventually helps in adolescence and young adulthood years.

Growing up as a teenager (between the ages of 13-19), you are exposed to many forms of peer pressure. Some of these forms causes us to think “is this really worth trying/doing?”, or “will my popularity