adolescence

Youngsters who are empowered as adolescents to take charge of their own futures will make better citizens in the future than did so many of their parents and their grandparents who suffered from being over-schooled, but under-educated in their own generations.

Society as a whole (and certainly not simply schools on their own) has to rethink how to use the creative energy of adolescence to the overall good of the community.

Society, going back to the stage of the diaspora out of Africa, needs both the impatience, and the energy, of adolescents to keep it vital.

When they’re young, we drive them to playdates, fill up their time with organized activity, and cocoon them from every imaginable peril. We think we are doing what’s best for them. But as they grow into young adults and we continue to manage their lives, running interference with teachers and coaches, we are, in fact, unwittingly stunting them. By continuing to protect them from failure and disappointment, many of our kids are missing out on the “risk-taker’s advantage,” the benefits that come from experiencing manageable amounts of danger.

….In studying resilience-related themes.. I found was that opportunities to take chances, take responsibility for others and for yourself, were things that predict positive outcomes for kids growing up under very difficult circumstances. Yet I began to see the very same things that we know help kids get through tough situations, were actually being denied kids who were in very, very good living situations, in very, very safe environments at home and in the community.