Dispelling the Myths
Adults today, almost always approach our youth with apprehension and misconceptions. They “our” youth and we fear them. The tables have turned. We feel more foreign approaching them than ever before. We hate their music….remember, our parents hated ours too. My mother cringed when she heard Curtis Mayfield shout…the ‘N’ word from my room, then he called members of the Caucasion race the ‘H’ word,… she feared for our lives.
LOL LOL
Though this generate takes everything much further to the left than we had courage to. At the same time we have to ask these two questions. Who introduced it? and Who allowed it? Not only that, if we really examine the issues. We also rebelled. We bucked agains authority. I grew up during the turmultuous 60’s. We remember how it was back then. The brothers and sisters in The Black Arts Movement, rebelled through the arts.
The young people from other nationalities rebelled and became hippies. I am sure if someone reading this blog would take it upon themselves to conduct a bit of research, we would discover that youth from other nations of people living in America also rebelled.
Adolescent rebellion is a way of life. It is partly because of the hormones of an adolescent are raging and out of control. It is normal and natural. Dust off your psychology books and refresh your memory…and do you remember that according to the books, adolescence lasts beyond 18 years old? One of the difficulties with today’s adolescence is that we don’t cook for them. Our mothers did not feed us so much junk food. We didn’t eat out that often. Who could afford to? My mother nor any of my friend’s mothers were too busy not to cook us something to eat…fresh…meat newly cut not frozen…green vegetables…no boxes…no packages…few cans. Our children as a whole are malnutritious. They are inadequately nourished.
Look for a blog about the effects of junk food on adolescence. Sometimes our children are called monsters. Granted, some of them can be rather monstrous, but who raised these monstrous youngsters? We did, our generation. Some of us did the best that we could, and obviously most of us didn’t. Few families go untouched by the madness of disobedient, unruly, and disrespectful children. Again, I ask, who raised them?
Yes, some raise themselves. But, why?
Yes, some slip through the cracks, But why?
Yes, some do things that we would not even have conceived, But why haven’t we reared them. Why haven’t we nurtured them? Why are they ignored? Why are they abused? Why are they not fed properly?
But, we buy them expensive stuff…stuff that won’t mean a hill of beans neither of us, just in a short time.
Could it be that the values of our youth has changed because ours has?
Could it be that they go unseen of all the autrocities reported because no one is “minding” them as my grandmother used to say?
According to her, “teenagers and young adults bare more watching than them babies.” We say they are all alike, if you know one you know the other.
However, this is a misnomer. It is an untruth. It is a false statement. It is an utter lie.
It is a dehumanizing thing to say. This kind of thinking is the reason many adults treat young people with as though they were less of a person.
It is true that our teenagers like to spend a lot of time with their peers. Alternately, if you would just ask, many actually want to spend time with their parents, and aunts, and uncles, and such…and according psychology, they need to spend time with us. I remember when I was a teenager, there were certain times of the day, week, and year when I was restricted from “going out”. I was forced to spend time at home “sometimes.” And guess what at the age of 49, nearly 50. I regard those times when I “couldn’t go out” very highly.
My pappy, grandfather, used to come to visit and say to my mother….Marth Ella, you mind those kids real good. He was pleased , she was pleased, even my father with his hands off approach was pleased. Not only that! I was also pleased.
Who’s minding the children?
There are many ‘good’ children out there.
To all parents and teachers, leave your comments about your children and your students. Give us examples and a few details about a child that is “not that bad”.
We hear about the bad stuff all the time. Let’s share some good stuff now.
