The United States' school grade system was arranged differently from the system in some European countries, where at the age of 16, a pupil would have made a decision between an academic scholar's program and some apprenticeship in a trade. In essence, high schools in the US have learned to follow the idea, while leaving the students in the same building for the whole time--makng the outcome questionable. I have noticed, in looking at high school transcripts of those I taught computer skills to, that grades and attendance both fall off in the third year. A 16- year-old is simply wise enough to understand that his/her days of depending on parents is coming to a close--and that it's time to think about finding a paycheck. For those in the academic group, however, their day of decision has been postponed until college is well underway.
Regardless of what a young person's intentions may be, the time comes when courses in school are not pertinent enough to take precedence to peer pressure. Out of class, the temptations of driving and having after-school jobs (maybe extracurricular for those with funds) leads most of them to think of where they fit in society. Finding a style for living is a priority. If the dream and the reality does not fit well, it is to succumb to temptations. Drugs and other bad habits may appear. One of the worst bad habits may be that of aspiring to own electronic gadgets which eat up wages and are usually in need of replacement come the next chance. The United States of America has trained a whole generation of young people as consumers. For perspective, let's think of a young teenager in 2001 and watch his process of "growing up." Many boys and some girls, with little means or prospects, succumbed to the military recruiter. Some of them will never leave what is considered to be a secure home with buddies.
Of course, many other youth have the moral and intelligent qualities necessary to compare their long term goals with what is available. They, at the age of 18, can manage their own money matters, and are likely to emulate society. Little more needs to be said. Negative net worth is not a condition which plagues any one generation. With less personal experience, however, the youth of this nation is in large part in a precarious position. They long for possessions. They see an ever more dire employment picture.
The years covered here do not point to the process of changing from "learning a style" to having an understanding of self-realization. So next Saturday, I hope, I'll tackle the latter stages of adolescence. I promise to pay little attention to those citizens who may have difficulty crossing the divide.
