Peer Pressure in Middle and High School

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A. Kurek Adolescent Paper SEC 300 Effects of Peer Pressure on Adolescents Attending school is mandatory in the United States. Adults encourage their children to attend school so they can learn about basic knowledge, the past, present, and future, issues in the world, different ways to perceive the world, and many other things. However, how do the children perceive school? Some attend because they love to learn and gain knowledge each and every day. Others attend because they are told to. It is a sort of routine to follow. Sometimes, children see school as a safe haven. They are able to get away from their disturbed home life, feel loved, and eat. But what do the vast majority of children think of when it is time to load the bus and head to school? Friends! School is the epicenter of social interaction and personal relationships. Children form cliques based on their interests, therefore making friends and each of them learn different things from each other; Influences that can be positive or negative. No matter what group a child associates with, there will be influences. Peer pressure is a growing epidemic in schools today that needs to be addressed. Peer pressure is a social influence cast on an individual by others, or pressure on a child to behave in a certain manner that is acceptable to a certain group. Peer pressure has a negative connotation; however, not all of it is negative. When a student is surrounded by “the right crowd”, peer influences tend to better the student. For example, a student may give advice on how to play a difficult piece of music for music class, or a student could witness a good deed being done by a friend and feel the urge to do the same later that day. Most of the time, school teaches students about facts, but, on the other hand, friends and peers teaches students about life skills that can benefit them for life. Students
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