Hines Article

Author and Title...
The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager by Thomas Hine

Some things I understand...
After reading the Hine article I felt as though is was all about the life of a teenager; what they do, don't do, how they are viewed, etc. The article was okay. I agreed but at sometimes disagreed because I do not think that ALL teens are like this. Yes, the majority of them are just like the ones described in the article, but not all. Therefore, my mind was constantly shifting back and forth when reading the article and I am still confused as the where I stand in the end.
One of the biggest things that I agreed with when I was reading was a quote on page two. It states, "Maybe I'm something special, and maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm here for a reason and I might be going somewhere after this, but then again I might not. I wonder where I fit in?" I believe that all teenager face this thought in the during their teenage years. I know I felt this way when I was a teen. I think that teens feel like this and might ask themselves a similar question because their lives are beginning to change at this point, including their mind and body. Some teens are able to get through this point with no problems while others may suffer severely and have rough teenage years.
Another piece of the article that I agreed with and could see where the author was coming from was when he talked about teenagers "falling". He said that there are two different ways that people view teens as "falling", one being positive and then other negative. "Teenagers have been "falling" one way or another-- by dropping out of school, becoming pregnant, joining gangs--from the time society first started raising the age of adulthood. If you take a romantic view, young people "fall" in another way. They grow up. The cut their hair (or remove tattoos), give up their youthful idealism, and fade into the gray mass of adult society." I think that there are definitely both types of teens. Some choose one path while the others choose another. Unfortunately, I feel as though there are more teenagers that choose the negative "falling" rather than the positive one.
Overall, the author made some good points in his article and I enjoyed reading it. Hopefully, class discussion will help me see more of these teen ideas.


Some things I don't understand...
-- The text was hard to view, because all of the letters were smooshed together and some were hard to make out. Therefore, I constantly had to stop myself and say "what was/am I reading about again."

--I didn't get the point that the author made was he was stating that he really started the book when he did the yearbook thing back in high school.

--How can someone have a baby an prom and then just leave it there to die AND show no sign of emotion about what she had just done!!!!!!

--What exactly does the author mean by his title, "Are Teenagers Necessary?" Even if they are not necessary, there is no way of getting rid of them or changing those years of 13-19.

Connections to other texts or course themes...
--All of the things that were said in the article about teens can be viewed and are portrayed in much of the media.

--The article relates to the assumptions of "Youth is a culturally constructed category" and "Teenagers are not some alien life form".

--As I was reading the article I was able to see the connection of it being a parents nightmare when their child turns into a teen (it can be heared by almost every parent, even my own). Also, I thought back to middle school and high school and I would think of a some classmates that followed along with the usual teenager to-do's.

Questions/Comments/Points to share...
--Does everyone view teen as "bad"?

-- Are the teens actions justified by the mental ability because it is the teens that seen to be consistently performing the same acts?

--I enjoyed the article and could see some of the points that were being made about teens BUT I felt as though all teens were being bashed and recognized as bad and this stereotype does not hold true for ALL teens (in my opinion).