MLA
Almost every generation criticizes the current adolescent generation due to the difference of historical perspectives. In response to this, I went out into the world and decided to interview someone of these older generations, Diane Partee Miller. Mrs. Miller is the age of seventy-five and is my maternal grandmother. She grew up in the small town of Evansport, which is located in the Northern part of Ohio. Mrs. Miller was an adolescent and primarily grew up in throughout the prime years of the 1950s. Differences between these generations is evident in classes taken in high school, social acceptance of dress, romantic relationships, and technology.
Mrs. Miller attended high school, like many other adolescents today. There, she studied
…show more content…
many subjects, such as Geography, Choir, Math, English, and Physical Education. Yet, Mrs. Miller attended and took many classes that are no longer available in the standard public school system. For example, she took Home Education, a course which offered instruction on basic concepts such as sewing and taking care of children. Today, adolescents take the same core classes such as Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts, but are able to take classes that include revolutionary technology. For example, adolescents can take classes that teach the basics of Photoshop, Adobe, and Coding. According to Mrs. Miller, adolescent clothes were much more conservative compared to today’s clothes. At school, there was a dress code for both boys and girls. Girls had a much more stricter dress code and were forced to wear long skirts, blouses, and khakis. However, boys were the opposite of this. Their dress code consisted of wearing khakis with their choice shirt. Today’s adolescents experience the opposite of this. They have their choice in what they wear, except in the school environment. Similarly in school environments, girls have a much stricter dress code. For example, girls are required to wear dresses,shorts, and skirts that meet “fingertip length” and tank tops that meet the “three finger” width rule. Most adolescents in Evansport, the neighborhood of Mrs. Miller, were allowed to date at the age of sixteen. Most of the time, dates would go to places such as diners, drive-in movies, school football games, and school dances. According to Mrs. Miller, almost every high school sweetheart would get married right after they completed high school and couples would start a family when they were in their 20s. However, adolescents of today are the opposite of this. Most start dating around the ages of fifteen to seventeen, while dates are allowed to go to various places. For example, couples can go to restaurants, zoos, and roller rinks. High school sweethearts usually don’t get married after completing high school, they usually break-up and get married to someone else after college. Therefore, many couples tend to not start families until they are around their 30s. Throughout the interview, Mrs.
Miller kept on emphasizing the main difference between the adolescents of today and the adolescents of her time is the amount of technology. This generation is so far advanced technologically from her generation, which allows for an abundance of opportunities. For example, students now have the ability to travel to so many different places, which allows for further education in a variety of fields. As compared to Mrs. Miller, who was not able to travel to a variety of places. Yet, Mrs. Miller feels as if adolescents are not a motivated as they were years ago due to the fact that knowledge can be accessed with the touch of a fingertip. This causes adolescents to not excel and prefer to just meet standards in accordance to Mrs. Miller.
Overall, there are many differences between Mrs. Miller's adolescents and today's adolescents. For example, the amount and types of classes than can be taken in high school differ greatly. Similarly, there is a huge gap between the types of socially acceptable dress for both boys and girls. Furthermore, views and places of dating differ greatly between the generations. Let alone, the greatest difference between these adolescents is the amount and development of technology.
`
Brooks wrote this article to inform the new generation not to buy into the hype of the “baby boomers.” He uses a compare and contrast type of approach with contrasting explanations of people’s expectations versus reality. The author wants to convey a feeling of awareness, which almost feels foreboding. The intended audience is young American college students or those about to enter college. It's intent to them is to inform them of the dangers that follow graduation where expectations are concerned. This audience is comprised of both male and female readers of all races and
In today’s culture, the number of issues that the average person has to face on a daily basis, are astronomical. Millennials, in particular, have been greatly affected by this, so much so that a new phase in the human lifespan has been created just for them! Dubbed “emerging adulthood” by psychologist Jeffrey Arnett, plopped smack dab in the middle of adolescence, and adulthood, this phase captures any, and all doubts that 20-29 year olds are plagued with. From their economic standing, to racial, ethnic, and identity issues, and to disabilities ranging from both mental, and physical, this phase captures every single uncertainty, fear, and qualm that one person can possibly have in a neat little package.
Palladino creates a historical background of the thirties in order to show how history related to and effected the personal experiences early teenagers were having. When Palladino wanted to talk about the challenges and repercussions faced by teens of the 1930s, how they were beginning to go to high school and develop a social group of their own, she first had to explain the historical context teens of the thirties were living in which was the Great Depression. Describing the historical context without directly bringing in teenagedom shows Palladino uses sociological imagination by implying a relationship between the Great Depression and the personal experiences of early teenagers. Palladino explains, “But the realities of economic depression, severe and unrelenting by the mid 1930s, altered their plans. Between 1929 and 1933, professional incomes dropped 40 percent, and the supply of white-collar workers dangerously exceeded demand...During the great depression there were 4 million young Americans sixteen to twenty-four who were looking for work, and about 40 percent of them--1 million boys and 750,000 girls--were high school age” (Palladino, 35-36). Later she elaborates to explain that much of teenage life was affected by this historical occurrence, showing that she understands history connects to the personal lives of the early teenage societal group. Palladino does this again when analyzing teens of the forties, “Although the nation had been gearing up for war ever since the fall of France in 1940…” (Palladino, 63), Palladino creates a fuller awareness of the historical context teenagers were living in, in order to examine the group by showing their relation to societal forces as a whole and the history being made around
The baby boom was a big contributor to the new word “Teenager” as in “The 10 years from 1946 to 1956, the population increased by 20 percent, in Canada. Those new kids demanded new furniture, new clothes and more food be produced, along with new houses, and new cars and lots of other services like schools and playgrounds, and swimming pools and hockey rinks. Lots of ne...
Juveniles are being taught that in order to have a nice car, branded cloths and the house of their dreams, by getting into an expensive mortgage, they have to be an employee of a huge corporation. In addition, they have to undergo to a prestigious school, study hard, have excellent grades in order to become popular and respectable in the world. However, many people would not become those super leaders, but these majority of people have a great role in the capitalism society of the US. As Gatto says, “We buy televisions, and then we buy the things we see on the television. We buy computers, and then we buy the things we see on the computer. We buy $150 sneakers whether we need them or not, and when they fall apart too soon we buy another pair” (38). Such results are in part of a wrong education that teenagers have received trough many decades. In addition, Gatto highlights that modern educational system has been working in a six basic functions methods that makes the system strong and unbreakable: The adjustable function, indulge students to respect authorities. The integrating function, which builds the personality of the students as similar to each other as possible. The diagnostic and directive function, which allows a school to set permanent scholar grades in order to determinate his or her future role in society. The differentiating function, which gives to the student a good education and after his or her role is diagnosed, they prevent any educational progress. The selective function, function that the system has used to prevent academic growth for the non-selected students. The propaedeutic function, which works in the selection of specific groups of intellectual adults to keep perpetuating the system all over again making it a continuous sequence. (Gatto 34). Gatto’s facts revealed the survival of the educational system for decades,
Joseph Epstein’s “The Perpetual Adolescent” argues that the new norm in today’s society is to stay young for as long as possible rather than to continue on to adulthood. In Epstein’s point of view, this goes against human nature. Epstein points out many examples of the perpetual adolescent by explaining how staying young for as long as possible prohibits people from taken life seriously. This leads many people to postpone the important tasks of getting a job and getting married and to settle down in their own home. Epstein mentions that the creations of Rock n Roll, Catcher in the Rye, and even the election of our youngest President JFK has created a movement that has us trying to stay as young as possible for as long as possible. In his essay, Epstein argues that this movement to stay young has lowered society’s expectations and intelligence of the nation. Epstein tries to make the connection between how people dressed when he was young to how people dress in today’s society and how that is the reason for why people of
Edna Pontellier and Neil Perry both went through a realization in their lives. The two characters were helped by someone in their lives. Even though they went through the same conflicts, they had different passions and fatalities. The role of women has from1890’s to present day. Women are independent, possess freedom, and have equal opportunities as men. The American teenager however is becoming even more distinct. The 1950’s started the evolution of the teenager and the authenticity lives on.
The 1950s seemed like a perfect decade. The rise of suburbs outside cities led to an expansion of the middle class, thus allowing more Americans to enjoy the luxuries of life. The rise of these suburbs also allowed the middle class to buy houses with land that used to only be owned by more wealthy inhabitants. Towns like Levittown-one of the first suburbs- were divided in such a way that every house looked the same (“Family Structures”). Any imperfections were looked upon as unfavorable to the community as a whole. Due to these values, people today think of the 1950s as a clean cut and model decade. This is a simplistic perception because underneath the surface, events that took place outside the United States actually had a direct effect on our own country’s history. The rise of Communism in Russia struck fear into the hearts of the American people because it seemed to challenge their supposedly superior way of life.
Currie, Elliot. 2005. The Road to Whatever: Middle-Class Culture and the Crisis of Adolescence. New York: Metropolitan Books.
Throughout time there are some periods that are distinct to those looking back. The fashion, ideas, historical events and lives of people in the past vary between the decades. The 1940’s mark a decade where peace was declared and old norms and values were shed. Finding a soulmate was more important then than ever as a new world rose up and pop culture gained traction. Dating was part of the rise of pop culture in the 1940’s. Women and girls were given more roles in society outside of roles in the home. As a result of this combined with the newfound ‘teenager’ image, adolescent girls would dress in men’s clothes, listen to popular music one the gramophone and socialise with adolescent boys.
This generation is severely lacking cultural diversity. The United States school system feeds its students “American History,” but some believe it has only educated them on a few main points in history, and most of them have been from the view point of Euro-Centric America, and not the Melting Pot America is. There is so much to American history that even Americans are not aware of, however this generation is so consumed with celebrities, technological advancements, and up-to-date fashion. There is so much technology and access to the past, and yet most people do not take advantage of it. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to open those of this generation up to a culture rarely discussed unless in a detailed study specifically catered to it.
One of the changes that Tyler analyzes is their development of the brain. For example, she states that “the parts of the brain -specifically the prefrontal lobes are involved in planning and decision-making – continue to develop well into the late teens and early twenty’s” (Tyler). Then she backed up her argument with the source from Jordan Grafman, “the prefrontal is important for decision-making, planning, reasoning, and the storage of knowledge” (Tyler). With this strategy, Tyler allows the readers to draw attention to her reasoning about the changes of adolescent’s lifestyle by making a short decision and strategies to take care of themselves. She emphasizes the risk of becoming dependent if the adolescents continue to call their parents for advices and guidance. Not only does she display credibility sources, but she also employs logo to raise an awareness about the adolescent’s development. For instances, she reports that “roughly three-quarters of executives and HR managers at 400 companies surveyed said that recent four-year college graduate displayed only “adequate” professionalism and work ethic, creativity and innovation, and critical thinking and problem-solving and decision-making” (Tyler). By arguing about the late development of becoming matured, Tyler gives logical appeal to the reader to forewarn them about the characteristics adolescents need for their job. Without gaining these strengths, they will encounter short decision in a difficult situation. While Tyler uses the strategies of logos to structure her ideas, she also uses parallelism structure to raise an issue of hovering
When I sat down with Rachel Van Gundy to interview her about her life to learn more about her, I quickly learned that she had a lot of things interesting about her. The thing that stuck out the most about Rachel is that she’s very close with her mom. Her and her mom are best friends. Rachel shares almost everything with her mom. Her mom is her rock in life and even in school.
SUBJECT: In an article, for Taki’s Magazine Gavin McInnes holds nothing back, as he offers his harsh critique on what is wrong with youth today.
At the end of World War II teens had little disposable income because everything went towards the war effort (Rose 191). Coming off of World War II and the Great Depression, 1950’s teens were some of the first not growing up in a time of anxiety and through a tight economy. Many of these young adult’s parents grew up during the depression and saw many goods as unnecessary luxuries; while on the other hand these teens saw these items as necessities (Kallen 149). By growing up during prosperous times in the fifties these teens saw many products and buying behaviors differently than their parents. Since the United States was hitting prosperous times, many of these teenagers’ parents were employed and making plenty of money compared to the previous years. With extra money many parents wanted their kids to live better childhoods than they did during the Great Depression and would so give their children spending money (Cosgrove; "The 1950s Lifestyles and Social Trends: Topics in the News."). For the first time teenagers had “large amounts of disposable income to spend” (Kallen 149). Another difference that distinguished teenagers in the 1950’s from those before them was the emergence of their own subculture. During World War II financial and social constraints caused teens, specifically girls, to have similar styles as their parents