Comments on: Education, socialization and teen rebellion

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 20:05:00 +0000

I think teen rebellion is a way to vent the necessary seperation from their parents. They need to know themselves whether they can “survive” in the real world or not. How are they to know what is going to work for them without trying it first? Everyone learns from their mistakes…who better to learn from then the person they understand most…themselves.

By: Odile S

Odile S — Thu, 10 May 2007 09:47:00 +0000

I’ve been reading a lot about education because I’m a mother and married to a psychologist. In an old Dutch book I found a description of teen rebellion not described as rebellion but rather as a clash between the drive to be creative and the existent culture. I think this is very interesting. As often, this was not ellaborated in the booklet which was an overview. I have some success with scaffolding activities, both on cognitive and creative fields - but also through doing stuff like painting a door, assembling a new chair, complicated travels (and the related problems have to be solved by the child). It is but one of the threads of my blog.

By: Geri

Geri — Thu, 10 May 2007 03:25:00 +0000

I think teenagers are just misunderstood. Most parents don’t understand this part of life probably because situations of the past are entirely different compared today.

By: Dana Hanley

Dana Hanley — Wed, 09 May 2007 19:34:00 +0000

Thank you for your thoughtful comment. I do think life expectancy might have had something to do with it…and just good old fashioned necessity.

Children in general were looked on very differently…often more as “little adults” than as children. And as soon as they were able, they were expected to contribute to the running of the household and farm out of necessity. Few could afford the luxury of treating their able bodied teenaged children like children, freed from responsibility. That comes with wealth, I think.

Apprentices certainly rebelled, but it wasn’t viewed the same way. Adults walk out on their jobs and their families today, but that isn’t viewed as a normal part of growing up.

I think the perception that rebellion is normal in the teen absolves him/her from some responsibility, thus making it more likely.

But there is another aspect to this I’ll be discussing later. I need to track down the book I read a couple years ago, first, though.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:15:00 +0000

Adolescence is absolutely a modern construct. However, apprentices rebelled as well– remember Benjamin Franklin ran away from his brother.

Adolescence has been extended into the midtwenties in the last few years. Many young adults don’t feel the need to be self-supporting until a few years after college.

When I taught middle school, the message repeatedly reinforced was that students couldn’t be held accountable for any of their actions. This at the age when children in many other cultures go through rites of passage into adulthood. They aren’t responsible becuase we don’t allow them be.

Of course, life spans have dramatically increased. Taking your Mary and Joseph example, it is usually believed that Joseph was older than Mary, as was common in that culture and era. Nonetheless, Mary was probably between the ages of 13 and 17. They could hope to live to be about 45, on average, so I wonder if the extension of adolescence is in any way shaped by this biological change in life expectancy.

By: jennifer in OR

jennifer in OR — Wed, 09 May 2007 07:27:00 +0000

“artificial extension of childhood” - I’m kinda thinking our modern universities do this, too.

By: Dana

Dana — Wed, 09 May 2007 02:36:00 +0000

Actually, they more likely think of them as adults.

They are given the basic rights and responsibilities of other adults in the community, or are at least more definitively placed on the path.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 09 May 2007 01:41:00 +0000

I agree. Children in different cultures are considered an adult at different ages. I guess the word teen doens’t apply to some because they still think of them as children.

By: Kerri

Kerri — Tue, 08 May 2007 16:24:00 +0000

Thanks for your post. I don’t know if you’re familiar with Maya & Miguel, a show on PBS in the afternoons — http://pbskidsgo.org/mayaandmiguel — that emphasizes cultural diversity and language learning but I’m reaching out to talk to parents about the program as part of a marketing project I’m working on with Scholastic.

I found your post and thought I’d reach out to say hello and ask if you’d like to receive a free Maya & Miguel DVD. If you’d like to receive the DVD just email me at Kerri at boldmouth.com with your address and I’ll have it shipped it out to you.

If you do choose to blog about Maya & Miguel show or episodes on the DVD, please make it clear how you received the information. Our goal is to be open and honest with everyone we reach.

Kerri Roberts, BoldMouth

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 08 May 2007 14:41:00 +0000

Yes, teenagers are considered adults in much of the world…and were hear at the time of the Revolutionary War. I don’t think that started changing until the 1800s. The first occurrence of the word is in 1818, at least, and I would guess that is when it slowly started.

I knew Gatto had said something similar…it has been awhile. I always enjoy a good article that confirms what we already knew!

I think it also has a lot to do with attachment, which I may take up again later. The symptoms are the same, anyway. Public education, particularly coupled with daycare and excessive activities outside the home, are inducing attachment disorders on wide segments of the population.