The Dialogue of Teenage Boys
Beep! Beep! Beep!
That damned alarm, the most hated of Joe’s possessions, began its insistent whining at precisely 7:15 AM on July 5th. A fist groggily snaked out from underneath the Charlie’s Angels blanket and hit the top of the clock. It stopped whining. After some very peculiar movements, the mound of blankets gave birth to a bleary-eyed seventeen-year-old boy. The inhuman apparition staggered towards the bathroom. It paused when it came upon the mirror, seemingly startled by the ghastly visage reflected in the honest glass. Joe groaned, swore, spat and returned to the place affectionately called "The Pit" by the rest of the family.
He visited the bathroom an hour later, reemerging looking considerably more human than the thing previously spotted. He was wearing a smart, but casual, luminous green shirt and bright blue jeans. He looked like something from the nightmares of the Jolly Green Giant. Citrus colored and smelling like soap, Joe ambled slowly downstairs for his breakfast.
Joe met up with his best friend Ross at around twelve, just outside McDonalds. As was the custom by this time, both argued over whose turn it was to pay for the food, resolved, as ever by the tossing of a coin. As they munched on their soggy Big Mac burgers, their conversation steered towards the party that night.
"You goin' then?"
"Aye, widnae miss it fur onythin' in the world. Anyhow, Martine's gonnae be there, mebbes I'll hae a chance wi' her this time."
"Aye, Ross, and my bum's jist swallied China."
"Ah thought ye were lookin' a bit heavier that usual, but ah wis too polite tae mention it." At this, the two friends collapsed in fits of laughter, not even stopping when Ross began to choke on h...
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...Joe looked apologetically at Sam. She nodded, a resigned smile upon her lips.
"Yeah, I know. You've got to help your friend. It's OK. I understand. I'll see you later. Give me a call sometime." With that, Joe took the dumbstruck Ross by the arm and gently led him out of the door.
As they walked home, the two friends reflected upon the night's events.
"Ye should have seen your face, Ross! Ye were like a wean caught stealin' a sweetie!"
"Yeah," answered Ross, sadly, "But it wis a' goin' so well up tae then."
"Talk tae her the morra, explain whit happened. If she's worth it, then she'll gie ye another chance."
"Aye," interrupted Ross, a cheeky grin on his face, "And if she isnae, at least I got tae feel her ar-"
The two friends laughed their way down the darkened, but familiar, old streets. It looked like the holidays were going to be a lot of fun.
Strange things began to happen the next couple days. First, Joey was in the living room of Grandma’s house making a jig saw puzzle. He heard the sound of a horses hooves walking slowly on the street then the sound stopped in front of the house and heard someone put something in Grandma’s mail box. Joey heard the horse walk away and a little while later Grandma’s mailbox blew up. Next, Ms. Wilcox’s outhouse was destroyed by a cherry bomb. Then, a dead mouse was found floating in the bottle of milk that was delivered to the front
Brezina, Timothy. (1999). Teenager Violence Toward Parents as an Adaptation to Family Strain. Youth and Society: Volume 30, Issue 4 (p416, 29p).
Many people are uneducated when it comes to domestic violence, sexual violence, and teen dating violence. “Domestic violence is a pattern of behavior used to establish power and control over another person through fear and intimidation, often including the threat or use of violence” (Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts). The statistics of domestic violence are alarming. “1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime”
The next morning, Maggie filed a police report about seeing the young boy in their house the previous night prior to her husband’s death. The police went to the Wilson’s house to investigate, but the boy was gone and there was no sign of any unusual activity. The three of them went back to their home where they mourned the loss of their dad and husband. The next night went smooth, they all stayed in the guest bedroom, avoiding the room where they had seen the young boy, and the room where Joe died. Two days later, at Joe’s funeral, Reagan spotted a young boy that looked like the boy she saw floating into her room that dreadful night. Reagan rushed over to her mom and Chandler to tell them what she saw. The night of the funeral, thunderstorms moved in and a big gust of wind blew a tree limb down onto the power lines adjacent to their house. This caused a power outage in the middle of the night followed by a loud lightning strike, which woke Maggie up. Suddenly an image appeared to be floating toward her. The shadow immediately made her think of the young boy they saw the other day. Before Maggie could call the police, the young boy strangled her to death. Her screams woke Reagan and Chandler up. They hid under the covers crying and hoping the young demon boy would go away. However,
Zahn, Margaret et al. “Girls Study Group: Violence By Teenage Girls: Trends and Context.” National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. May 2008.Web. 29 Mar. 2012. .
Boyhood is a cinematic time lapse over the span of 12 years documenting a boy named Mason, from the years 6 to 18 going through the struggles and triumphs of childhood and adulthood. The purpose of the movie is to illustrate how Mason travels through young adulthood and his experiences to show how it shapes him as a person. The independent movie gained much praise from audiences and critics alike. It cannot be argued, however, that it is like no other coming of age movie.
Wolitzky-Taylor, K. B., Ruggiero, K. J., Danielson, C. K., Resnick, H. S., Hanson, R. F., Smith, D. W., et al. (2008). Prevalence and correlates of dating violence in a national sample of adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 47, 755–762.
Any person can type in the words violence and youth in a search engine on the internet and get a host of replies. The person can type in causes of youth violence and the responses narrow in number. If the person types in assessments and interventions for youth violence the number becomes even small. The violence involving the youth of the United States continues to rise. Violence among youths and young adults results in emotional, physical, social, and economic stress (CDC,2010). Homicide is the second leading cause of death among America’s young. It is also a major cause of non-fatal injuries. There were 650.843 youth injuries related to violence seen in the emergency rooms across the United States.
“It’s fine. I can’t be here very much longer anyway. I gotta get outta here.” George said.
I selected teen dating violence because this is an issue affecting Eastern North Carolina, affecting teen mothers, high school students, and even middle school kids, are victim of dating violence. As the Community, and Hispanic Outreach Specialist for a Federal funded institution, for four counties in Eastern North Carolina, I have had the opportunity to work with many cases, from child abuse and neglect, homeless, poverty, drug addiction, hunger, HIV cases, domestic violence and the new trend teen dating violence, and one situation is connected to the other.
Teachers: What Do We Really Know? Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness , 2 (3), 209-249.
Born on July 18, 1918, Nelson Mandela grew up like many other children in his tribe. He was born in Mvezo, South Africa and had no shoes till he was sixteen. “On the first day of classes I sported my new boots. I had never worn boots before of any kind” (“Nelson Mandela”). When Mandela wore his new boots to class, his class mates were amused because of the way he walked in them. A few students actually stood up and embarrassed him in the presence of the class. “The country boy is not used to wearing shoes” (“Nelson Mandela”). Although he was embarrassed, he moved on, lived his life and went to Fort Hare University, but because of tradition his Chief stopped his studies and prepared an arranged marriage. Mandela was not interested in the girl his chief chose, so he decided to avoid the marriage. “But he was no Democrat and did not think worthwhile to consult me about a wife. He selected a girl, fat and dignified” (“Nelson Mandela”).
Jupp, B., & Education, T. (2009). What states can do to improve teacher effectiveness. K-12
Sexuality Today Newsletter "Violence in Adolescent Dating Relationships Common, New Survey Reveals" December 22, 1986 (reporting on a report in Social Work contact Karen Brockopp) pp 2-3.
We keep tally marks (with parenthetical comments) in my little black book. When we score, we call them glory points. We conceived the idea on a Friday night of meandering around coffee shops, discussing the book Catcher in the Rye. I convinced my friend Michael that Catcher in the Rye satires pathetically alienated teens and mocks the protagonist as much as anyone else - and thus bore our tradition. We score glory points by convincing the other that he is wrong; my little black book is the memo pad I use for keeping phone numbers, homework assignments, other assorted notes, and of course, glory points. At the moment, I am beating Michael five to four in the "glory game."