In any developing society, the youth should be the center of attraction. This is because the youth of today, are tomorrow’s leaders. Similar to the adage, “Don’t kill the goose that lays the golden eggs”, society is the goose, and the youth are the golden eggs. Although some communities make the welfare of the youth a main priority, this is not the case for other areas. If more communities neglect the wants and needs of the youth, the nation will eventually be led in a downward spiral. John Edgar Wideman’s article “Street Corner Dreamers”, examines the possible change that could occur in the lives of the youth that live on Grand and Essex as a result of President Obama’s election into the presidential office. Wideman deduces that a positive
According to the article, “For more than two years, the city has been sandblasting Seward Park’s seven-story exterior walls” (Wideman 25). It can be inferred that the condition of the Seward Park High School is a direct reflection of the living conditions of the youth on the corner of Grand and Essex. The author goes on to explain, “Someone was paid a large chunk of scarce public funds, originally designated for improving education, to clean the building” (25). Schools are designed primarily to enhance students’ knowledge and broaden their spectrum of thinking. Though cleaning is necessary, the quality of the education being given is more important. Repainting the school; therefore, is a distraction; a distraction that blinds people form seeing the more pressing issues of the school. In the same way, the problems faced by the youth are ignored and society is determined to make them appear problem-free. Wideman throughout his article feels that the presidency of Obama is significant and liable to bring change. This is seen when he says, “The president of the United States of America, listening to the words of the young people who throng Grand and Essex, Obama listening to discover what he may do for them, do for us all” (27). From the text, President Obama is depicted as a leader who is willing to lend an ear to his people. By listening to the youth on the corner, he will comprehend their struggles and effectively find
Finkelstein, M. (2005). With no direction home: homeless youth on the road and in the streets. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Inner-city life is filled with glimmers of hope. The children had hopes of leaving the dreadful streets of the ghetto and moving into an innovative and improved place. There are times when Lafayette states, ...
Courtland Milloy, an African American columnist for the Washington Post, examines the effects inadequate educational facilities have on children. His article, "Young Minds Injured by Our Inattention", is focused towards the ethnically and socially diverse adults of the Washington area. Milloy's intention in speaking is to explore the problems society has with it's educational system. Although effectively appealing to emotions and values, Milloy lacks strong arguments of character and fact to convince the diverse community that the absence of recreational and educational facilities effect children and lead them to a life of violence.
with the youth. It is with the youth that the future of the culture lies.
In the United States of America, the general path to becoming a successful adult begins at an early stage in life and continues, typically, until the age of 18 when one is able to positively contribute to society. During this period, we are constantly molding our future through the cultural influences of the environment surrounding us, obtaining an education provided through grade school, and expanding upon our socialization skills. Therefore, a productive culture, adequate education, and the ability to adapt socially are all vital building blocks needed to finish our path to success. Raised in a community that harbors an isolative culture unconducive to success, those born in “The Hood”, a community
These challenges create a youth that is not prepared to compete in our competitive society.... ... middle of paper ... ...(2013, October ). Education for Homeless Children and Youths Program. Greensboro: U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/homeless/data-comp-0910-1112.pdf.
Instead of money, the authors suggest “donating” service to the homeless. Thompson argues that loose change “might encourage, rather than relieve, the anguish of the poor” (Thompson). By providing a long term aid, the homeless are able to better their lives for tomorrow as well. Instead of helping these people relieve their hunger for one day, the authors encourage helping their long term needs, such as assistance in finding a job or stopping an addiction. Long term aid is more beneficial for both the homeless and those giving. The needy are able to get their lives back on track, while the donors are able to help a stranger, and ultimately clean the streets of possibly dangerous beggars. A short term goal for Grand Junction “is to decriminalize it” (Magill), making the community parks safe again. This, in the long run, will allow the public to once again gather at these community parks, making the city of Grand Junction a closer knit and safer place. Both authors have similar goals in writing their articles, yet Magill’s outlines specifics as to how to achieve this goal. Each author is determined to help the homeless and accomplish the same outcome, yet Magill provides more definite steps as how to get
Currently there are about 600,000 people who live in the South Bronx and about 434,000 who live in Washington Heights and Harlem. This area makes up one of the most racially segregated areas of poor people in the United States. In this book we focus on racially segregated areas of poor people in the United States. In this book we focus on Mott Haven, a place where 48,0000 of the poorest people in the South Bronx live. Two thirds of the people are Hispanic, one-third is black and thirty-five percent are children. There are nearly four thousand heroin users, and one-fourth of the women who are tested are positive for HIV. All of this, and much more in one little area of the South Bronx. In the middle of all this chaos and confusion are children. Children who have daily drills on what to do if gunshots are heard, children who know someone who has died of AIDS, children who have seen someone been shot right in front of their face wondering if its their father, children who long to be sanitation workers, and children who die everyday. The lives of these children almost seem lost with depression, drugs, and death all around them.
There has been an increase in high paying jobs that require young people to have a higher education in developing countries that are enhancing and integrating to global economy. Technology is another factor that is becoming more prevalent in these under developed countries. It’s becoming less common for young people to go out and do agricultural work to support the family financially, as many parents rather support and make it easier for their children to go to school. These entire factors can eventually open up all the possibilities for more and more emerging adults to experience life and explore their independence, as countries become wealthier chances are that more young people can go to school and move in to a dorm and have a semi independent lifestyle until they reach adulthood. This can benefit our future generations to come and potentially increase the life expectancy and become achievable adults that live a longer and prosperous life. This will be a new evolution for the young people now and the young people to come, this means more educated people, which call change the way our jobs, economy, and development of our countries can be. More young people will explore their horizons and develop to be the best they can be instead of being forced to work a full time low paying job and hit a dead end. Perhaps one day the new
The hood, short for neighborhood, of a predominantly poor, minority area is vastly different from the neighborhood of middle or upper class suburban area. Whereas one is overridden by violence, hopelessness, and a sense of confinement, the other is an exemplification of the American dream, prosperity, and opportunity. The polar differences between the two areas are not coincidental, but, rather, consequential.
...are inadequately being taken care of. Consequently, there is the possibility that America’s poor children will grow up in a socially disorganized neighborhood, and ultimately they will be exposed to violence. As they grow up, they will attach meaning to the surroundings and people around them, and depending on the resource in their life they will eventually become molded.
Kent, Adam. 2009. “Vulnerable Youth and the Transition to Adulthood.” Table 1. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Office of Human Services Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, DC. http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/09/vulnerableyouth/3/index.pdf.
Throughout society, the emergence of technology as well as the dominant mass media influence creates a masked perception of youth. It is difficult to maintain an objective standpoint because of the persistent biases amongst society. While some youth in actuality do participate in criminal behaviors the prevalence becomes inflated because of the use of the media. As a result, the social construction of youth becomes tainted due to harsh headline eliciting fear into the general public. The news article titled “Hamilton Teen gangs: “ Little men playing big men games” elaborates on the killing of a fourteen year old male by the name of Jesse Clarke, taking place in August 2012 in the city of Hamilton. Jesse lived in an Eastern neighborhood where he was attacked by a group of young men, who approached the victim’s house “ Brandishing pipes and bats just before he was stabbed”(Carter, 2014). Throughout this paper I will elaborate on the negative construction of youth as a
Life struggles and injustices in my community have shaped me into a passionate, determine, and empathetic community leader. My aspiration in building stronger and safer communities derived from the obstacles I experienced as a first generation Chicana, growing up in a low income community. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles where at age 11, I witnessed how education inequity played a critical role in the life opportunity and academic success of the youth in my community. During my first two years in Stevenson Middle School, I began losing friends and classmates due to drugs and alcohol, gang violence, and delinquency. Throughout those two years, I lived with fear and anxiety not knowing whether tomorrow I would be alive. I had no mentors
In the rapid change of the world today, the importance of moral among youth seems decrease drastically among teenagers in the world. The society plays a huge role in misleading the youth with advertisement that seem to ruin the moral values. If the society pays good tribute on the welfare of the future generation, the future of our world will be better. Thus, the importance of moral values among youth also can help them discover and develop into a better person too. Those who value good moral get the privilege of modifying and altering their lives for the better. It helps youth to inculcate and good qualities inherited from healthy youth. General George Washington once said: Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem you own reputation negatively, it is better alone than in bad company. Hence, we can see that it is very importance to instill moral among youth. There are a lot of advantages of maintaining a good moral among teenagers such as: to avoid social problem, to develop a good friendship and relationship, ensuring peaceful country in the future, represent who we are and keeping a positive thinking.