The Kids These Days

I've worked with high school kids for nearly fifteen years now, and feel that I've at least started to get a feel for how they approach the world. A great deal of the published literature is on solid ground. Kids are stuck in the netherworld between childhood and adulthood. Their bodies are telling them one thing and their minds are unable to speak. They act on impulse because they can. With an inability to distinguish a safe environment for one fraught with dangers, teenagers take little notice of the possible consequences of their actions. Why would they?

In modern, middle-class America we have created the ultimate responsibility-free zone on the planet. It seems sometimes that there is virtually nothing a kid can do that will cause lasting harm . . . at least to him or herself. We don't report instances of dishonesty to the colleges at which our kids enroll. We don't discipline kids of whose parents we are legally fearful. It doesn't take much intelligence to figure out that the rules are often for show. Slowly, the younger generations (my own included) have taken the bellows to our house of cards.

As they grow, the brains of teenagers eventually create their own ability to assess results prior to action. The problem so often seems to be that the road to this new talent has left them with the knowledge that consequences are, for the most part, theoretical guidelines that are only the starting point for negotiations. I fear that this mentality might not bode well for the future. Even the best of kids, when given the information that repercussions are transitory, will stray from the path. What happens when the majority of adults starts to act this way? I guess we'll all find out in a few years.