Next Generation
When I was a teenager, there are tons of lessons my parents, my teachers, and elders tried to teach me. Many of these went in one ear and out the other. I wasn't ignoring them. But a lot of knowledge comes from direct experience, not from "Here's the way things are, because I said so." I learned most of these lessons later, on my own, from the world when I became ready to learn them. And it was the world that prepared me.
Teenagers are running around today with their cell phones, texting while walking, so distracted by the device in their hands that they almost run into other people on the sidewalk. They pay more attention to their mobile devices than other things that might matter. They act with a sense of entitlement, which, while it's what they've learned, maybe isn't the best mentality with which to carry yourself.
Grown-ups point to these as indicators that kids take too much for granted, and that they're not grateful for what they have. That's a fair point. But when the teenager asks in response, even internally, "Why should I be grateful?" Well, that's also a fair question. They don't know because they haven't learned. And I'm not convinced that we're always capable of teaching them.
We have created a society that shields (some of) our teenagers from a lot of the uglier side of things. Giving kids a safe environment in which to learn and grow is perhaps the greatest thing we've managed to do as a nation, even if we don't always do it well. But there is a trade-off: we, as adults, have seen and know the real world. Some know it much better than others. Teenagers don't. And as a result, their actions and attitudes reflect their experiences.
I'm not offering parenting advice here. I don't have kids, and I firmly believe it's every parent's prerogative to warp their kids however they see fit. (Provided your kids don't come to school shooting, of course.)
Fun fact: I haven't kept an exact count, but I estimate that the number of middle aged adults distracted by texting on their cell phones who have almost walked into me on the street is about the same as the number of teenagers who have done it.
Teenagers are running around today with their cell phones, texting while walking, so distracted by the device in their hands that they almost run into other people on the sidewalk. They pay more attention to their mobile devices than other things that might matter. They act with a sense of entitlement, which, while it's what they've learned, maybe isn't the best mentality with which to carry yourself.
Grown-ups point to these as indicators that kids take too much for granted, and that they're not grateful for what they have. That's a fair point. But when the teenager asks in response, even internally, "Why should I be grateful?" Well, that's also a fair question. They don't know because they haven't learned. And I'm not convinced that we're always capable of teaching them.
We have created a society that shields (some of) our teenagers from a lot of the uglier side of things. Giving kids a safe environment in which to learn and grow is perhaps the greatest thing we've managed to do as a nation, even if we don't always do it well. But there is a trade-off: we, as adults, have seen and know the real world. Some know it much better than others. Teenagers don't. And as a result, their actions and attitudes reflect their experiences.
I'm not offering parenting advice here. I don't have kids, and I firmly believe it's every parent's prerogative to warp their kids however they see fit. (Provided your kids don't come to school shooting, of course.)
Fun fact: I haven't kept an exact count, but I estimate that the number of middle aged adults distracted by texting on their cell phones who have almost walked into me on the street is about the same as the number of teenagers who have done it.