Integrity In 'Thank You Ma M'

Most teenagers go through their last years of childhood through trial and error, making this experience incomparable to anything else. By being crazy and irresponsible they learn that there are times when that’s appropriate and times when they need to be mature and responsible. Yes, sometimes things get out of hand and feelings are hurt and friendships are lost, but it’s shaping them into who they will become in the future. It’s to be believed that “there are no mistakes”(Freud), everything happens for a reason, whether it resulted in a realisation or a major change, mistakes are just another part of life. But, it’s also an important rite of passage for most young teens.

Similarly, both teenage boys and girls struggle with decision making and the impulse of wanting to make an “adult decision.” “In other words, it takes longer for adolescents to figure out when not to do something.” (The Teenage Brain, pg. 55) Teenagers are vulnerable to learning the “wrong” things because they’re curious about the world and sometimes this will get them in trouble. Both male and female teenagers are wanting to be their own people and make their own decisions but often don’t want to face the consequences. “Self-feeling, ambition, exaggeration, and excess – they

One of my classmates made a point, she said,” Haven't we all changed within those couple of years, I know I have.” As well as Sarah Brown stated, “With the steady decline in juvenile violence, the current state of the economy and new information on how brain development shapes teens’ behavior, some lawmakers are reconsidering past assumptions” (Brown). Both these quotes prove that people's personalities develop and change within the time no one stays the same. I sure the reason for these people's transformation was because of their surrounds. Villafana 2 Another author who believes teens should not be held for their irresponsible/immature actions is Gail Garinger. Gail Garinger says,” Young people...can not be held to the same standards when they commit terrible wrongs” (Garinger 96). I agree because as teens we are still relying on others to protect, teach, and nurture us because we are unaware of the outside

Many adults think of teens as lazy, irresponsible and just want to party all night long and sleep all day. But is that really the truth? Ameil Burke writes.

By definition A teenager, or teen, is a young person whose age falls within the range from 13–19. They are called teenagers because their age number ends with "teen". Today Grady and I will be adressing the represenatation of teenagers in the media and how and why they are percieved the way they are.

The court said that because of their youth, their brains are less developed, they are more impulsive, more subject to peer pressure and less able to see the consequences of their actions. Researchers have started to look into the development of the brain from the ages of 3 to 20 years old. Brain research by Thompson and others suggests that teenagers are unformed, less mature and less resistant to peer pressure than adults are. According to Thompson’s research, “gray matter, which brain researchers believe supports all our thinking and emotions, is purged at a rate of 1 percent to 2 percent a year” (89). He also states that, “these frontal lobes, which inhibit our violent passions, rash actions, and regulate our emotions, are vastly immature throughout the teenage years” (89). Teens do know what they have done and they are capable of understanding right from wrong but their brains aren’t developed enough to make fully mature decisions.

Considering the behaviors of an adolescent in the same manner as that of an adult is unfair. Juvenile brains are still developing, which means that they perform differently than adult brains (AACAP). Adolescents are more likely to act on impulse, get involved in fights, and engage in risky or dangerous behavior. They are less likely to think before they act or consider the consequences of their actions (AACAP). Weighing this scientific fact, it is unfair to assume that a juvenile committed a delinquent act with the same forethought of an adult. The mental development of a juvenile makes it difficult to prove that they established the mens rea equal to that of an adult guilty of the same offense.

Teenagers are often seen in society as careless and dangerous in the U.S. society. With many articles on adolescence, this thought stays true. Although, in a basic psychology book the author contradicts this thought. The author of a basic psychology book merely states that peers often coincide with parents on encouraging teens to do well. So, what’s the truth? The best way to answer this is to analyze articles that have strong support for their opinion on adolescence. An article by the name of “Why Teen-Agers Are the Worst” by Elizabeth Kolbert explores the possibilities on why teenagers may be dangerous. Kolbert’s thesis is “At moments of extreme exasperation, parents may think that there’s something wrong with their teen-agers’ brains. Which, according to recent books on adolescence,

Teenagers. What did you think about when you read the first sentence? Was it that teens are those one track minded creatures that no one can really understand although they were in fact once a teen themselves. Perhaps you were thinking what causes them to act the way they do? Well, in the essay “The Terrible Teens” by Elizabeth Kolbert, Kolbert gives her insight on teenagers and what causes them to act a certain way with the insert of theories from Frances Jensen and Laurence Steinberg. Kolbert goes on to support the theories that a teenager’s brain isn’t fully developed, why teenagers take more risks due to the temptations and peer pressure. In addition, why violence becomes an issue for teens starting when they’re young.

Teenagers are often compared to others, either through academics or athletics, and some end up rebelling against their parents. Teenagers tend to act, dress, speak, and do everything else differently around different groups of people, especially family members and parents. Teenagers are also pushed towards music, which creates an escape

We are presented with choices every day. Many are easy to make and cause very little stress, but some choices can be extremely difficult and have significant consequences. The difference between making the right choice or the wrong one is often determined be a persons character, which is based upon the qualities of integrity, responsibility, and honesty. Gaining an understanding of these three character traits and how to build them is critical to creating a lifetime of positive outcomes.

Consequently, teenagers are often impetuous and have a difficult time controlling their emotions. However, this does not serve as an excuse for committing crimes with great magnitude such as murder. In The Sacramento Bee, Greg Krikorian published the results of a study conducted by a University of Massachusetts professor in an article titled “Many Kids Called Unfit for Adult Trial.” According to the findings of the study, “performance in reasoning and understanding for youths ages sixteen and seventeen did not differ from those at least eighteen years of age.” (Greg Krikorian 7) Although younger teenagers may not have the same reasoning potential, based on the performed study, sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds, in comparison to adults, have very similar thinking abilities. Thus, the brain development of these teenagers is almost, if not completely, finished. As a result, trying teenagers ages sixteen and up as juveniles is not fair to adult convicts, considering the fact that both groups have the same reasoning abilities. Thus, juveniles ages sixteen and up should be tried as adults. However undeveloped their brains may be, teenagers fully understand the consequences of their

For those of us that are parents, we know that raising a child to adulthood is not an easy task but one which we do lovingly (hopefully) and responsibly. I’ll go out on a limb to say here that everyone agrees that the teenage years are the most challenging. The general consensus is that teenagers are unruly, aggressive, careless, spoiled and dependent on technology. On the other hand, I believe along with a small group of other parents that teenagers are also brilliant and in the process of becoming and reaching their potential and that they deserve much more respect than what they are given.

Teenagers are still growing and learning. Sometimes we forget that they are making choices that can affect their whole life. Yes, we are here to teach them and to guide them in making decisions that will help shape their future. Are they going to make mistakes? Are they going to regret some of their choices? Are they going to wish that they had listened to their parents at times that they didn’t? I’m pretty sure that we made mistakes as teenagers and decisions that we wish we could change. I know that some made worse choices than others but, we have all made poor choices at one time or another even as adults. I definitely feel that

A number of researchers have suggested over years that teenage brains are not yet fully developed. At the National Institute of Mental Health researchers have studied the human brain ever since the stage of birth all the way to adulthood, to prove that the brain is not complete. When it comes to this topic, Americans assume that if a teenage commits a crime than they should not be held accountable because of their age. Yet they must consider that teens are capable of understanding the situation they are in, how they are looked upon as young adults,, and how they should learn from their mistakes.