Kohlberg explains how adolescents try to refine their sense of identity and try out different “selves”. He states that the search for an identity lasts past the teen years and into early adulthood. The reason could be that the teenager is used to their parents choosing what they are going to be, that they just want to ignore the parents and do what they want to do and “find” themselves. The teenager has decided that they have seen the life their parents have and has not yet decided to choose that life and is rebellious to it because they want to experience other lives. The stage that this most fits in is the Conventional Phase in Kohlberg’s Moral ladder.
They have the tendency to be self absorbed, worrying more about their appearance than anything else. Most of them are insecure about themselves but hide behind their money and designer clothes. It is not unusual for them to lie and gossip about one another just to get to the top of their clique. After high school some grown up and realize there are more important things in life while the others still need materialistic stuff throughout their life to be happy. In high school we all get a label, sometimes its one we spend decades trying to live up to, where others spend a lifetime trying to forget those painful years.
Critics wish to band the novel for its depressing views of life, vulgar language and mature themes; but it is from these elements the reader can learn the best lessons. As a result, this classic novel should unquestionably be taught at a high school level because at this age readers will be mature enough to both comprehend and appreciate the novel the way in which it was meant to be read by Salinger. Although somewhat extreme, the overall concept of the novel precisely portrays an accurate and evocative representation of a teenager’s mind. This allows student readers to detect and recognize the themes embedded throughout the text due to the fact they are effortlessly able to identify with the present content. Therefore, The Catcher in the Rye should be taught and analyzed in high school to express that to live in the past will get us nowhere, to teach how to deal with depression and to develop an understanding of anti-conformity.
The program gives you challenges and opportunities to become a better citizen. The instructors are not like teachers, they put in an effort for you to actually try and build up. You do leadership tasks; you help younger teens, participate in things that other teens don't get to participate in. The class isn't boring, you’re always learning about new things, we do weekly current events, and uniform wear. Wearing uniform teaches us responsibility; we have to make sure that our uniform is in order, and has everything on correctly.
Real friends will accept the way you are, and would never pressure you into a decision which you know is foolish. School systems are the central locations for negative peer pressure and many teens feel they have to change who they are just to "fit in". Fashion has become a major deciding factor in the appearance, and popularity of todays teenagers. Many feel if they dont get the latest nikes, or the coolest torn up jeans they will have trouble being accepted when around other peers. Schools have become more of a contest then a learning environment.
Therefore unlike the Daily Mail, which delights in demonising teenagers, The Observer encourages people to “try a little love instead”. Indeed if everyone tried a “little love” it would not only support teenagers but it would encourage them to behave and to well at school which would ultimately make them more successful. In conclusion the representation of teenagers in the media is completely unfair and wrong. I believe that we should all give teenagers more support and less criticism, including the Daily Mail. Being a teenager is a very difficult process as your body dramatically changes and you are subject to over-whelming hormones.
According to source A, “Community Service embodies experiential learning, locating a moral center, community health, because it is about empowerment and making the world a better place…” Yet, each day kids are becoming lazier and lazier because they don’t understand the importance of volunteer work and community service. If parents aren’t fulfilling their duties and teaching their children about respect and responsibility, then who is? Recently, in the past several years, it has become mandatory for teenagers all across America to complete a certain number of community service hours in order to graduate. Now is this a good thing or is this
So with that, people should ask themselves, at what level does conformity escape one’s conscious and enter the unconscious? Everyone strives to make friends, possibly doing certain actions that will get themselves into the clique they desire. Many experiences come to mind when we begin to think about the concept of fitting in. High school is usually the first place that we consider when we think about where many of us want to fit in. Though high school may be when conformity is most extreme in modern life, it is definitely established much earlier and continues long after we graduate.
Then, during my teenage life, the main drive was to enrol into a good degree programme and make my parents proud. In order to achieve this, I sacrificed my fun time and learned to be more organized because I felt I am the responsible to get good grades in my Foundation programme to get into good degree course. Meanwhile, my goal now is to achieve my ideal self and be who I want to be in the future. For example, I want to be a productive and responsible person in life but at times my laziness stops me from being one. Therefore, I am still working towards it by changing my behaviour little by little and this is more likely a self-actualization process.
For instance, there are many teens that would never think of staying out late, but by placing a rule on this subject, the teen might not feel trust worthy, and might be more likely to try pushing a curfews restriction. This is not always the case though, some teens need every rule stated, or they might test one’s patients, more than likely, the later. Parents should remember that they know their teenager best, and they need to set curfews according to their own teen. After being remittal for several decades, juvenile curfews have reappeared in communities across the United States. Researchers at the University of California estimate that nearly 75 percent of major American cities now enforce some form of a nocturnal curfew.