The authors of one of your readings from last week (Disrespecting Childhood) argue that whereas Americans claim to love children, many policies and practices demonstrate quite the opposite. What are you thoughts on this claim? If you agree, then point out several additional examples from the last decade. If you disagree, provide a few examples that illustrate how Americans respect (and value) children and childhood. Make sure you explain your examples.
Monday, January 14, 2019
Prompt for the week of January 14th (Disrespecting Childhood)
The authors of one of your readings from last week (Disrespecting Childhood) argue that whereas Americans claim to love children, many policies and practices demonstrate quite the opposite. What are you thoughts on this claim? If you agree, then point out several additional examples from the last decade. If you disagree, provide a few examples that illustrate how Americans respect (and value) children and childhood. Make sure you explain your examples.
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The reading "Disrespecting Childhood" really stood out to me and emphasized my beliefs on why I think children and adolescents are treated poorly at times. The article talked about how children are seen more as a "legal liability" than the future of our society. The article also stated that parents love their children when they are not acting out and are obeying rules. I think that children need to play with their friends, have fun, and have an imagination. I do not think that the society we live in today is allowing children to do that. For example, the article talked about recess getting taken away for more time to study school subjects. In my opinion, recess is just as important as studying math and reading. Children should be treated more like children from their parents, teachers, etc, because they are being taught to mature too fast.
ReplyDeleteAdolescents and teens are being treated very poorly today, too. For example, the article stated that older generations think that just because someone is an adolescent means they need to be drug tested. There are too many stereotypes placed on teens in today's society. Older generations assume that just because some teens do bad things means that all teens do bad things. The article talks about how kids should have at least two hours of homework a night. They are supposed to do two hours of homework, play a sport (or do some leisure activity), and get adequate rest for the next day. That is impossible. I believe all children and teens should be treated with more respect.
It is clear that America does love children because of the many laws enacted for the youths safety, the effort parents put into ensuring their children have great lives, and the help of pediatricians making sure children are healthy both mentally and physically. However, after reading the article “Disrespecting Childhood” I do agree with their claim that Americans may not love and respect children as much as they claim they do.
ReplyDeleteAn example of this includes in the article when it explains that Americans lack the ability to identify when violence is present in school and stopping it. They ignore issues such as violence. In the past decade, school shootings have become an issue across the country whereas before violence and confrontation mainly ended in fights it now seems to result in plots to badly injure and even school shootings. If parents, educators, and other Americans wanted to keep their children as safe as they claim they do, they would begin to identify violence when it first arises and stopping it before it escalates to crazy outcomes even if this would include new school rules or even new laws. Another example of how children may not be loved and respected as much as it seems they are is when the article talks about making schooling harder and more demanding by cutting back on recess for elementary aged students. While school is important, it is also important that children are still given a childhood and can interact with their friends at school. Being with friends is a big part of social development especially in children at these young ages and if it was taken away, America may begin to see issues with children's social skills. Play is important for all children and they love to do it, it teaches them many things that parents should want to see in their children such as the ability to have an imagination, leadership skills, and other social and physical benefits such as communicating with other children their age and getting physical activity. While children are loved and well taken care of in America, these are just a few recent issues that should be taken a closer look at to ensure safe, fun, and respected childhoods in order to fulfill the countries claims that children are loved by America.
Although the article “Disrespecting Childhood” has a few valid opposing points from that of my own, I truly believe that Americans, as a whole, do value and respect children and their childhood. In my opinion, most American adults try to set children up for success even though this may be looked at as “tough love”. Like the authors of “Disrespecting Childhood” said, there are many programs set in place in America to ensure the success of children such as healthcare programs, Head Start, child labor laws and nutrition programs. All of these have been put in place to protect children and give them opportunity in life.
ReplyDeleteThe article then mentions how school, in the last few decades, has been highly intensified. This is a very real statement, yet it misses the idea that this is so that children can get a higher education and become the person that he or she decides to be. I also see this same point being reinforced when the authors bolded the sentence “More than 133,000 children are in juvenile or adult correctional facilities on any given day.” I believe that this is American adults pushing and asking for the best behavior and effort out of every child. All in all, Americans’ claim to love and respect children is valid, yet some practices could be altered for the betterment of America's youth.
Sydney, I also agree that Americans as a whole try to set up their children for success. I believe that children up until adolescence are mostly treated with the utmost respect. I say this, because I believe that particularly our generation and ones below us are not treated so well. Adolescents are expected too much of, and they get blamed for a lot of society's problems.
DeleteI agree that our nation does its best to set children up for success with programs like HeadStart and others like it. I think that most of the "troubled" children in America stem from their also "troubled" parents, and that is not necessarily America's fault as a whole. I enjoyed reading your response.
Sydney,
DeleteI agree with you 100% because what some may view as harsh parenting, I think is just tough love. Children need tough love so they can understand certain boundaries that separate right from wrong. Human naturally tend to test boundaries as much as they can, often times crossing that. I do believe too much tough love can create a rebellious child, but nonetheless there are still situations where it is needed.
Kayla,
DeleteI had never really thought about the idea that our generation is very poorly treated in respect to how "elders" think. Although there may be a few reasons that I can think of as to why, many of them are not simply our generation. Because you brought it into my perspective, I now realize that older generations really seem to blame incoming ones for the world's problem and issues. This is just not quite right.
After reading the article "Disrespecting Children" I've learned a lot about how adults perceived children and teens. You would think since there are a range of laws designed to protect children, most would considered that showing love towards children, but I disagree. Those laws were created in 1993 and it is now 2019, a lot has changed since then. In the article it even states that children are basically a "legal liability". You wouldn't call someone you are suppose to love a liability in anyway or form. I do believe parents love their own children. Most would say as long as they are behaving, but I think no matter what parents will always love their children. One piece of evidence that I found very interesting was that Americans aren't consistent in caring for other people's children. If the main question is, do Americans love children, then the answer is no because you should always care about every child, no matter who they are.
ReplyDeleteThe parts in the article that talked about teens made me realize adults dislike them the most, or think badly of them. The article stated that teens are a "crises". They blame it on the popular culture. That it promotes violence, teen pregnancy, sex, offensive language, suicide, and drug and alcohol abuse. I'm not saying our society isn't like that because it totally is but not every teen commits those actions. There are definitely a number of teens who get involved in those actions, but just because some teens do, you can't categorize all teens as bad kids.
The most I got out of this article is that as a whole, a huge community, we need to work on treating children and teens with more respect. There's always going to be that one kid who acts out, but just maybe it's because he has no one to care or love them. Showing love to all kids could really change the lives of the kids who have no one.
I agree and disagree with the article “Disrespecting Childhood.” I think it is very hard to categorize American Children as a whole. Americas children are protected under the laws of the government and are set up to be successful in schooling. As the article stated that there are programs out there from head start to post-secondary education. The government also has health programs and nutrition programs out there to help all the children. I think the government is setting children up with an opportunity to be protected and successful, whether the opportunities are being taken advantage of is not up to the government. I do think that America does love its children.
ReplyDeleteI do think that teens in this country are very stereotyped. The older generations think that all teens do drugs and get into trouble all the time, but there is a large percentage that does not get involved in those behaviors. The article “Disrespecting Childhood” also talking about how kids should have two hours of homework a day, I think that is too much. Having a kid go to school for seven to eight hours a day, being in clubs and sports that meet after school for usually two hours and getting home and getting enough rest for the next day does not leave room for two hours of homework. Kids still need to be kids and have time to be with their friends and develop socially. I think that today’s kids have too many expectations in academics. All in all, I do think that kids need to be treated with more respect but I also believe that kids need to treat others including peers, parents, teachers and adults with more respect.
As the article talked about in the beginning, parents love their own children and typically put them first. However, as the article progressed it is clear that just because a parent loves their own child, does not mean all Americans love children as much as they claim too. One major example that stuck out to me was with recess time being cut in order to have more time for academics. While academics are important, making social connections and interacting with peers is just as important. Recess is the main, if not only time that children in school can interact with other children. Being able to play with other children of the same age is a major part of a child's social development. It is important that Americans understand the importance of imagination, communication with peers, and social interactions just as much as they understand the importance of academics.
ReplyDeleteAnother example that caught my eye had to do with "popular culture." Many adults in America believe that teenagers are likely to do exactly what popular culture is displaying in either music, video games, movies, etc. However, just because teens are exposed to things such as violence, drug use, and more does not mean they are going to do exactly what is depicted in music, video games, and movies. This is because most teens do understand the difference between right and wrong and can make decisions based on their values and morals. Overall, while parents love their children, many Americans do not care for other children as much as they claim and this idea of adoring children and teens needs to be changed until America actually does care for children the way they claim too.
This article really taught me a lot about how kids are being raised across the country. When I first read the article, I was disagreeing with the topic until I read more into the article. Honestly, I think it is different for everyone. As an society, sure, they are disrespecting childhood. A few examples from the article was drug testing the entire school and the rates of children that are in juvenile or adult correctional facilities, which was shocking for me. The number is a lot higher than I thought. I was raised in a small town so I did not see a lot of problems like they talk about in the article. As testing for drug use, not all teenagers use drugs so it is unfair to assume that they all use it.
ReplyDeleteLike I said earlier, I think it is different for each families. Some teenagers or kids are not doing those dangerous things. One example was the popular culture. Right now, there are so many different trends going around and some of them have violence, sex use, drugs and etc. Some people think that being exposed to all of that, the teenagers will follow that trend. Which is not true, not all kids/teenagers follow the bad trends.
I do believe that there are many parents out there that love their children. It is just hard to know if they are doing the right thing or not. What is important is that they love their kid and they are trying to do the best for them.
After reading the article "Disrespecting Childhood" my views about how adolescents and children are treated changed. I now believe for the most part they are mistreated. One statement from the article really caught my eye. It read "as a society, we love children-when they are under control" and I find this very true. In society people are quick to punish and or judge children who even slightly defy expectations. This is the same as when a child acts differently than what we consider as normal we put a hate label on them. On the other hand, we show children off and praise them when behaving “correctly.” Another very shocking statement in the article was that there are advocacy groups that seek the creation of child-free zones in public places. This clearly shows a hate for children. Without children and adolescents there is no future. Lastly, I strongly believe that teenagers are the most mistreated group in my opinion. In the article it talks of people immediately linking teens to teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, and even suicide. Teenagers are very stereotyped into being the things above. They link teens by the use of media campaigns that use hateful headlines such as the ones listed about and more. Teenagers and children deserve more respect than just being labeled because of how old they are.
ReplyDeleteLynsi,
DeleteMy views on how America treats children changed as well. I thought that the children of America were respected, but after looking at some of the statistics in the article "Disrespecting Childhood", it is clear that this is not the case. The thing that caught my attention the most was the amount of schools eliminating recess. Although it may not seem like a big deal, this is a time for young children to interact with children their own age and develop social skills and communication skills, which are very important for a child. I, too, believe that children and teenagers deserve more respect than they are receiving.
I agree and disagree with this article. I believe that Americans value their children a lot. Sometimes to the point that it is detrimental. When kids are being controlled too much, they can become rebellious towards their parents. It also depends on the child's personality. Parents do not have guidelines on how to raise children, if they did, all kids would be the same in a manner of speaking.
ReplyDeleteReading about the drug testing, yes this is disrespecting youth but how many cities does this happen? Again maybe this is America trying to protect their children from what they fear in the future. I know that some of my friends rebel against their parents because they believe that they can do whatever they want and there will not be any consequences, and it might be fun. It may not affect them at the moment but in the future it will come back and bite them. Parents cannot stay awake 24/7 watching their children, they have to trust that they will not do anything, which is why so many kids sneak out to be with their friends.
When they say that they have taken away recess, I believe this is a mistake because kids need to be kids. Then again, society wants them to mature faster. They let them make their own decisions, starting at a young age. They buy them phones, Ipods, pads, and tablets. I believe that this is detrimental to the youth because they are not learning how to communicate and play with their bodies, they do it through media.Like I said, parents raise their children as best as they can because they don't have rules but sometimes it can be detrimental to the children.
After reading “Disrespecting Childhood”, I still think that Americans love their children. The article pointed out that Americans love their children, but do not have high regards for children that are not their own. I think this is true regarding legislation. More office holders are not thinking about the needs of children as much, so they have cut back on funding for schools and lunch programs. Some new dynamics have risen in the past years. Children are not only influenced by their parents and family members anymore. As more access and time being allowed children getting onto the internet, the more people they watch and get influenced by. The fame that is brought onto the people influencing children entices the child to want to be more like them. The things the people on the internet can be anywhere from disrespecting their parents and teachers to being reckless. My point being that parents are loving their kids, but are struggling to have control over them.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I agree with many of your points in this post. I like how you pointed out that the office holders are cutting back on the funding for schools and lunch programs. I think that they should not be doing that because many students rely on the food provided at school. Many students are influenced by the internet and all the social media accounts that are available. And many parents do not have control over what happens on the internet and could be completely clueless about what their kids are doing behind the computer screen. Very good article with many strong points.
DeleteI have to disagree with the authors of "Disrespecting Childhood" for multiple reasons. It is clear, at least in my eyes, that America does love and cherish our children. There are laws and regulations that are enforced to protect our children from being taken advantage of. Children can’t legally work until the age of 14 and even then, they can only work so many hours. We, want to see our children play, laugh, smile, make friends and be silly because you only get to be a kid once. Children need strict guidelines in life so, I personally do not see how taking away one recess has a negative impact on the children. Children need to be taught about life, the musts and mandatories of life, and that may take some strict guidelines. In order to be successful, children need to be in school. In school they are both learning and interacting with eachother building the important communication skills required in life. The point I am trying to make is that America does love and respect our children even if it is tough love. Americans just want our babies to grow up happy and successful.
ReplyDeleteDisrespecting Childhood was a very interesting article to read. I am at a point of view where I am just past childhood and high school years, so I am able to relate back to and remember what occurred throughout my school and school system. I completely agree with the claim stating we as Americans claim we love children and are creating a pristine environment for them to grow up in, when we are truly ruining childhood and setting them up for failure if we continue on this path. There are three main reasons I believe that childhood is being ruined such as society’s negative views on adolescents, the social and economical impacts on today’s teens, and schools’ impeding pressure on children.
ReplyDeleteStarting with societies views on children, there are many people today who don’t want kids or even hate children. Many people don’t want children due to the fact that they cost money, can be a burden on their lifestyle, and are a liability. In Disrespecting Childhood, it is also stated that many people are afraid of adolescents. There is even a group that is going out of their way to challenge public policies that are seen to give people with children an advantage. They are trying to designate certain places as child free zones. What they are not realizing is that the children growing up around them are one day going to take over. Who do they expect to run the country or even take care of them as time goes on?
Secondly the social and economic impacts our society is having on children as discussed in Disrespecting Childhood. I am going to throw out a few facts that astonish me. One in six children live in poverty, 133,000 children are in a correctional facility daily, 21,000 youths are incarcerated, youth joblessness is soaring at 60%, over three million children were involved in child abuse or neglect cases in one year alone. We as a society are better than this! I hope that adults are able to step up and take on the challenge of raising a child. Yes, it can be difficult, cost money, and emotionally strenuous at times but we are not going to raise children with outstanding potential without parents putting their effort into better the future through their children.
Lastly, our children are being cheated by today’s school systems. While many things are impacting children’s productivity and success rates in school my main concern is that we are squandering children’s’ creativity. Educators believe that academic success is only what school is about and have cut recess time or cut recess all together for elementary students. How else are kids supposed to let out their energy from sitting in a desk all day, make new friends, or even just take a mental break from school for a few minutes. Along with cutting play time many schools are trying to cut the arts and music programs as they are pegged as “frills”. I disagree with this movement because I was able to see first-hand how many kids sought refuge within the arts programs. They were able to express themselves in their own way and able to connect with their emotions while finding a peer group who supports and shares their interests.
These are just a few examples that stood out to me on how our society is failing the children growing up currently. If we truly want to be a country that loves its children, we need to make a huge change and quickly. We cannot forget that the children we are raising will one day take over our jobs and be in charge. We are capable of raising children who will better our future and impact the world in an amazing way we have yet to discover, but we just need to make some changes starting with the views and respect of children.
The thing I find so intriguing about this article is that we have all been in the situation as young students struggling to have a voice. Its harder trying to expressing our feelings about our own education. I remember in high school when the only way I could seek any refuge was in my art class. In that class I thrived! I was learning about myself, becoming more engaged with others,
ReplyDelete, and learning true building blocks for the future. In this day in age, young children are so worried about passing a class that they lose focus on learning from the class. Different children learn at different paces and I know about that first hand. I do believe that as Americans we want to see our children succeed and to grow to have bright futures. I just think we lose focus on the true importance of education for our young children.
I thought that the loss of most art programs was a tragedy because I also was able to truly be myself and find an escape from some of my more demanding classes. The arts are what helped me to remain calm and connect with people who found the same escape from stressful times as I did. Most schools curriculum are so fast paced and so many student are very competitive with grades that they just focus on passing the class with high grades. I completely agree that we as Americans are loosing sight on what education truly is about and instead of learning we are pushing kids to simply pass with good grades.
DeleteChildren in America are sometimes treated very well, and sometimes not, as mentioned in the article. There are many stereotypes around children and the way they should behave and where they should be at in school, and if they don't live up to these expectations, they are looked down upon. I think we as a society do an okay job of helping children meet the expectations they are expected to live up to as well as providing help for those who fall behind. The majority of Americans, in my opinion, love children. Parents are trying to find the best foods, the best schooling, and the best extracurricular activities to help their children succeed. As we get older, it becomes more of a choice. I think thats when the opinions get more severe. If you aren't a three sport athlete in high school, you are lazy. If you don't have a job, you are lazy etc. Adolescence go through enough mental distress in junior high/high school years with peers and parents; they don't need society's opinions on how they should behave and how they should be spending their time on top of that.
ReplyDeleteWhile Americans claim to love children and view them as an important part of society, the authors of “Disrespecting Childhood” provide much evidence, as well as practices and policies which have been put into place that question this now controversial claim. Although I do not believe Americans have become completely apathetic toward children of this generation, I do believe that children may be treated in sometimes negative and unfair ways, but are still highly valued and loved.
ReplyDeleteThe novelist, Barbara Kingston, who was featured in the article talked about the ways in which children are coming to hold a negative position in the economy, and spoken of as a responsibility or legal liability. I believe this is true due to the fact children are viewed as being linked to violence, drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy, etc. While some children may partake in those certain behaviors, it is not reasonable to put that label on all children. Somewhere in the article it talked about how a group of children standing around in some places is probable cause for police to search them on suspicion for things such as drugs. This is a perfect example of the negative attitude that people hold toward children and the behaviors they hold.
Another shocking revelation in the article was that schools are no longer allowing young children recess, art and music programs are being rid of, and that kindergarteners in some places are being given up to 30 minutes of homework a night. This astonishes me because children are only young once and it is crucial for them to explore their minds and be creative. Children need recess as a break from learning and a way to let out energy. Children sitting in a classroom all day at such a young age seems similar to an adult sitting in an office doing work. I do not believe it is beneficial to extract the fun out of a child’s life at such a young age as a way to prepare them for the future.
Children are still loved and valued, as many would like to see them succeed and be the best they can be, but placing labels and taking the childhood ways out of their lives is not the way to help them reach their full potential.
Cameron,
DeleteI have to agree with on the programs being cut from schools. I think that this is very wrong. Another thing that I would love to point out is how you mentioned kids sitting in class all day is similar to an adult sitting at work all day. I think this is a very valid point that needs to be talked about. Kids need that time to go and explore and use their imaginations. This is going to help them become the person that they are going to be. By taking this away it makes me feel as if they want them to be all the same in some way. By showing them art class they could be come the next best painter in the world. Same goes for music class, or even recess when they are playing basketball or soccer. How are kids going to know what they like and don't like if they are not able to go out and play.
Rae Tiner
In the readings “Disrespecting Childhood” I found many of the points to be true, but I believe that this article does not take into fact the true intentions of these parents. I may be biased compared to some areas in the U.S., but from my point of view most parents want nothing but success for their children. From my own personal perspective, growing up my parents pushed for me to be the best I could be in everything I did. I remembered viewing this as them being strict, but now that I have grown up I realize that they just wanted what was best for me. I think this is the case for most parents, whether they are right or wrong in their ideas is a different subject.
ReplyDeleteOne example of America caring for their children is the fact just about every school in the nation does some kind of can, clothing, or even toy drive around Christmas time so that those less fortunate can experience the joy of the holidays. I think the way America treats their children is very subjective and depends on which variables are focused on.
I believe that Americans love children but are the parent that takes authority in a misdirection. Instead of showing them the right way and guiding them when they make a wrong turn, we punish them, sometimes to the extent of trying them as adults in the judicial system. Instead of sending a child to a juvenile facility where they will serve time, make them repair what they had done. For example, if they were caught breaking and entering, have them help repair the broken property and possibly some other projects that the victim may need done. Show the child the good that they physically can do. Put them back on the correct path, even if the child doesn’t receive the same treatment at home. Americans love their children, I’m just not sure they are showing it the right way.
ReplyDeleteIn the past decade, America has done many things to help improve the lives of children. For example, the free-and-reduced lunch program that exists in schools that are in low-income areas. This program makes sure that the children whose parents may not be able to afford their kids’ lunches still get something to eat. There are also new measures on how to assess bullying including the “What Would Kelso Do” poster that teaches kids how to talk to their peers as well as their teachers to let them know what is going on. The last program that I will point out is a federal program called Head Start. It helps low income families by taking care of their children so parents can work, while helping develop the children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. (Benefits.gov, n.d.) These programs would not exist if Americans didn’t love their children and cared about how they grow and develop.
Benefits.gov. (n.d.). Montana Head Start. (Benefits.gov, Producer) Retrieved 01 17, 2019, from benefits.gov: https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/1921
DeleteWhile reading "Disrespecting Childhood" it really made me think about how we Americans as a whole treat children and how we influence their childhood. It is easy to take your own perspective on how you view children, on how you treat them, and on how you raise them if you are a parent. As the article said, Americans are more focused on their own children but not anyone else's which makes sense, but sounds insensitive and heartless when viewing the bigger picture. I am on the fence on this topic because I know a lot of families that would do anything for their children but I also know parents that do not provide a loving and nurturing environment throughout their child's childhood.
ReplyDeleteThe article claims "We see children largely as burdens of responsibility". The first thing that came to my mind while reading this was the continuing practice of abortion. One of many reasons why women have abortions performed is mainly because they think their child would be a burden financially, physically, or any other reason instead of thinking of children as a miraculous gift, right? I also thought the article pointed out an interesting point on how adults "hate" kids who are basically different than the typical "norm" of society. It made me think about school and parents that have objective or free-speaking children. Children who are objective or who are developed differently than other children are typically punished and shunned. It almost makes me think that childhood can be disrespected but then I remember how some childhoods are rich and lather in perfectness.
I both agree and disagree with the statements and concerns that were presented by the article "Disrespecting Childhood." First of all, I agree that we as Americans sometimes tend to put a huge amount of pressure on our kids to "get better grades," and force them to chose a career path when they are very young and don't know what they want to do. I understand how it is important to encourage our children to excel in school, but on the same side, we don't need to push them so hard if we are just thinking about their future and how successful they could be monetarily. I think we need to distinguish between the desire to help children develop well and the desire to just want successful money makers for our future. I also agree with this article when it states the fact that schools do not have the children's best interests in mind when they remove periods of school like recess, music, and art from their programs. Children need that time to develop not only their social skills but also their physical skills as they run around, play, and get exercise. Overall, the article had some interesting facts about how our society might seem to be a children-loving culture, but that sometimes we definitely have the wrong motive behind some of our policies.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I also have to disagree with this article on a few of the points that it made. First of all, the article kind of made it sound like America was putting on this whole facade of loving our children but in reality we are just selfish, money-seeking people that only truly care about our own direct children. I definitely do not think this is the overall case with America. Of course, no country is perfect but we are not some terrible nation that doesn't care about the welfare and opinions of our children. An example of how we are listening to the opinions of our children and actually encouraging them to speak out is the recent walk-outs of high school students who spoke out about gun violence after the Parkland shooting. Hundreds of students were praised and even encouraged by social medial, newscast producers, and politicians for walking out and giving there opinions to the world. This example shows that Americans do actually care about what our children think and what their opinions are. Another statement that the article made that I disagree with is when they said that " the desire to enact these (get-tough-on-youth) policies is motivated by a general loathing of youths" (p 107.) First of all, I don't think that there is a "general loathing of youths" and second of all, I don't see these "get-tough-on-youth" policies that they are mentioning. If anything, I think American schools are letting children get away with a lot more things than they ever used to. Take discipline in the schools systems for example. Teachers are not allowed to carry out hardly any disciplinary actions against their students now, whereas before, the students were publicly disciplined and the issue was dealt with and usually resolved right then and there. I am not saying, by any means, that I think that corporate discipline is right or the best way of doing things; I am simply pointing out that kids are getting away with a lot more things than they used to be able to.
Overall, I think that nobody is perfect. Americans definitely don't respect our children's childhood perfectly and there will always be room for improvement when speaking of helping our children develop in the best possible way.
Dudley-Marling, C., Jackson, J., Stevens, L. P. (no date) "Disrespecting Childhood" Retrieved January 17, 2019 from https://moodlemtech.mrooms3.net/pluginfile.php/671196/mod_resource/content/1/Disrespecting%20Childhood.pdf
Marling, Jackson and Stevens in the article Disrespecting Childhood argued that American policies and practices are not respectful of children and I tend to agree. The national news these days is full of examples. It is only the middle of January, and already this year there have been at least 5 incidents of gunfire on school grounds in the United States. In addition, an estimated 3 million American children are exposed to shootings per year (Everytownresearch.org). As the authors of Disrespecting Childhood point out “all students are entitled to safe, secure learning environments” but there is “strong disagreement on the means” to achieve this safety. One way would be to have some time of gun control in the U.S. Yet putting restrictions on firearms is something that never comes to fruition.
ReplyDeleteThe federal government has reported that 2,737 Mexican children have been separated from their parents under the current no tolerance immigration policy and the New York Times recently reported that this number may be grossly underestimated (Jordan, 2019). This is just another example illustrating that American policies and practices don’t really care about children.
Jordan, M. January 17, 2019. Family separation may have hit thousands more migrant children than reported. Retrieved January 17, 2019 from https://www/NYtimes.com.
Gunfire on school grounds in the United States. retrieved January 17, 2019 from https://www.everytownresearch.org/guns-in-schools/#
Though Curt Dudley Marling, Janice Jackson, and Lisa Patel Stevens argue that policies and practices don't love all of the children in the United States, I argue that everything is all one sided.
ReplyDeleteActs like the ESSA (Every Students Succeeds Act) is just one step forward in ensuring that children are receiving a proper education. ESSA allows States and Districts to have more control with their students’ expectations, sets schools accountable for student’s performance, and plans for improving struggling schools. If you want to learn more about ESSA, you can go to this link “https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/your-childs-rights/basics-about-childs-rights/every-student-succeeds-act-essa-what-you-need-to-know"
Advocacy, Education, Emergency, and Protection all influence a child life. Here in the U.S. there is a ton of effort put into each of these categories. With advocacy, how many programs exist and are created year-round to propel students’ careers. HOSA, Speech and Debate, Boy and Girl Scouts, and others propel students to children of all ages to success. With education, ESSA and Head Start are just a few examples. Finally, with emergency and protection, Save the Children (an international non-governmental organization that promotes children's rights, provides relief and helps support children) does a lot.
That all I have. I can see both side of the argument as valid. Kids are like pets, you love your own and want the best for it, you deal with your friends because you love your friends, and don't want anything to deal with other peoples. Yes, this is a wrong way at looking at children, but I guess it comes down to personal attachments.
Before reading the article “Disrespecting Childhood”, I believed that America was a great place for kids to grow up, however, reading this article changed my mind. I agree that America does have many laws set up to protect children from many things such as physical and sexual abuse. It also makes schools do mandatory fire, earthquake, and lock down drills to ensure that children will feel safe in any emergency situation. Some schools have now even set up metal detectors to ensure the safety of all students. With all the laws made to protect children, it may seem that Americans truly do care about the children, but the article has pointed out many ways in which this is not true. In the education system alone, you can see that children aren’t as loved as they may seem to be. In many schools, recess time has been reduced or even removed. Although education is important for children, taking away their recess will only hurt them. This is a time where children can interact with other children their age and learn social skills, communication skills, and let them be creative and use their imagination. School districts are also adding more homework to children’s schedule leaving less time for sports or leisure activities. The American school districts are taking the individuality out of school by creating a standardized education. Students all must learn the same way, in the same amount of time. This leaves students with lower learning abilities behind, with no way of catching up. Americans have created a society where children must grow up quickly in order to survive, leaving little time for them to truly be children. The age of drug use, alcohol use, and sexual activity is decreasing. I believe that if Americans truly did love children, they would stop making them grow up so quickly, and let them have a childhood.
ReplyDeleteThis article “Disrespecting Childhood” made many arguments that our country is not a child-loving place despite the reputation we hold. Some of the statistics they stated in the article made me think twice about my opinion on this topic. Prior to reading this article I believed that children across the country are treated very well. I thought this because I am always seeing positives things being done for the youth. For example, the amount of money the country puts towards the education system, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Head Start, and all the extra-curricular activities put on. I also always thought children were in good hands because I always grew up in a good household, so it is hard to picture having a bad home life and I think this can go for many people. It Is hard putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. After reading this article, I was shocked. In 2002, 3 million children were suspected to being abused or neglected. That does not sound like a child-loving country to me. There are many programs out there that help children in need, and majority of U.S. citizens want the best for the children of this country but there Is still lots of things that can be done to improve our system.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading the article and reading my peers’ discussion forums, I couldn’t help but think about the diversity involved in categorizing American children all under one demographic. I think it is nearly impossible to put all of the children of this country into one group that is “disrespected”. That being said, I would have to take a stance of slight disagreement with this article. As a country, we obviously have a ways to go when it comes to adjusting laws towards how we treat children and adolescents but the difference in how individual families and cultures within America treat children is overall not as bad as this article portrays. Smaller communities and western culture is so different than the east coast and the southern cities that it is hard to even speak to this as someone who grew up in a tiny town.
ReplyDeleteBefore reading this article I precieved America as a great place to raise my family. As I've gotten older and realize where I live I see the negative in the world. As that being said I wouldnt change it for the person I am today. Growing up the way my parents raised me made me who the person I am today. I am very thankful for that. I think that we put a huge amount of presure on children today to do good in school, get good grades, hang around the right friends. When I think they are kids they should be able to make their own decisions to some degree. They should be able to go outside for recess, or to music and art class. This is going to help them devolp in their own ways and shape them into the person they are going to be in the future.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading this article, my perceptions on how children are treated haven't necessarily changed. Not all children and teens are treated the same. I believe that there are some cases where children are treated unfairly though. For example, there is child abuse and child sex trafficking happening all over the world. In these cases children are not allowed to have a regular childhood. They are not allowed to play outside, make friends, go to school. On the other hand, most children are allowed to do those things. The same thing happens with teenagers. Some teens are expected to get a job to either support themselves or their families. Other teens may not have to work because their families would rather them focus on their schooling and can afford their child's expenses.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to laws, there are several that work for the greater good of children. Some laws protect them from child labor and some keep them in school.
I think that there can be a disrespect of childhood in some cases, but not every child lives the same life.
After I read the article " Disrespecting Childhood", I felt about 50-50 in how well America treats children. Although we've made several laws to protect our children, are they really safe? How many children have to be exposed to uncovered health insurance, unemployment for teens, child abuse, sexual abuse, and school shootings for us to really make a difference to help these children truly be safe and secure.
ReplyDeleteIn the past I feel we didn't have the mindset on how to guide our children. I do believe now that America is trying their best to keep our children safe, but we as a whole should try harder to ensure that safety to every child. In our schools the article states, "The debate about reforming schools to make them better places to prepare young people to participate fully in the life of the community has been raging at least since the 1996 Breaking Ranks report from the National Association of Secondary School Principals.....there has been great attention given to redesigning high schools into places that will improve student learning." The fact that America is trying to do this for our children helps us trust that they do love and appreciate our children.
Prior to reading the article ( Disrespecting Childhood) I had never really thought about how children are treated and how the concept of childhood is treated in America. If I hadn’t read this article I would have told people that childhood and the concept of childhood is very important in America and held at a high standard. However, I no longer agree with that statement and I think that the concept of childhood tends to be toyed with. A major example that comes to mind when I think of childhood being disrespected is how fast children have to grow up in America today. Kids that are put into the foster system are forced to learn how to care for themselves and possibly other kids that are younger than them. When families break apart, if there are children, it isn’t uncommon for the older children to have to take up parental responsibilities for their younger siblings. Another example of childhood being disrespected is how quick kids are forced to make decisions about college and their future.
ReplyDeleteWhile I wouldn’t say that America is disrespectful towards its children, I would say that the biases held against children are unfair. A common theme experienced throughout teenage years is being expected to act like an adult, but not being treated like one. Expecting your children to take responsibility for their actions and duties is completely reasonable; however, discrediting their opinions, wants, and needs because of their age is not. The recent walk-outs and marches in support of safer schools and recognition of ongoing gun-safety regulation problems were largely discredited due to the age of those who participated. At the same time, teens are asked to show they care and are invested in the politics of the nation. In the instance that we become invested in these issues and wish to display our support, this age group has shown they are unafraid in doing so. Even with this new generation’s determination to be heard and show they are invested in the well-being of this country, those opposed to their views continue to use their age against them. It almost feels like the opposition’s goal is for them to think: “Why should we involve ourselves in political discussion, only to be shot down due to our “naivety?”
ReplyDeleteThis is a loaded question with too many variables. Yes, we care, no, we don't. It goes both ways.
ReplyDeleteAs knowledgeable adults it would seem to me we have a responsibility to help guide the future as brilliantly as we possibly can imagine. How else can we expect the assumptions of youth and teens to change? I agree that not everyone is concerned with childhood but I think that everyone should take into consideration what kind of future they wish to see. Maybe that is the reason certain demographics don't get proper education...?
Schools are being held to standards that caregivers cannot even uphold.We aren't being true to our human nature by having small children sit in classrooms and learn to write or work on math problems for hours. However, there are wonderful programs that are being implemented into many schools that chart a child's social and emotional well-being to help guide them into developing better coping strategies. There are also many books and parent aides to assist in the home that can be given out by the schools. Recess is being interjected throughout the day on a more regular basis in elementary schools. In contrast, we have teen pregnancy, abuse in its many forms, and overworked underpaid teachers that have little to no patience. Good government programs vs. poor nutrition in the lunch room. Its a large scale situation and requires many levels of community involvement and a more cohesive concept of what role we want children to play as a whole within our society. I can see both sides.
Before I read "Disrespecting Childhood" I would have said that generally America treats its youth well. However after finishing the article, my opinion has changed. It pointed out major problems that I sadly did not even consider when forming my first opinion. While America has many programs and laws in place, such as Head Start or sex exploitation laws, many children fall through the cracks. Children who are not white, such as black or Hispanic, are especially prone to not being protected by all the things America says it offers for its future members of society. Overall, one in six children are living in poverty. Of that, Hispanic and black children are making up much more of that statistic than white children. The United States makes it seem that everyone of every kind is getting a fair share, but that clearly is not true. If every child is not taken care of then it is not fair to claim that everyone will be taken care of. The article also talks about how over 21,000 children under the age of 18 are being held in adult correctional facilities. If the children are loved so much, how could we put so many in places meant for adult criminals. Schooling was made so much more difficult and tipped the scale in an unkind way, especially in terms of standardization. Expecting all children to perform a certain way on one specific test is just a recipe for disaster.
ReplyDeleteWhen all these little parts are put in front of you you realize how different things can be when it's evaluated at once. I think I did not realize that the situation was not as good as it seemed because, some of the things that are the most wrong are the things that do not affect me. That is probably the biggest downfall, the worst problems do not effect "enough" people for it to cause an immediate change. If Americans could focus more on trying make things even for every child, a lot of these issues could have a potential of actually being solved.
I agree with the authors of Disrespecting Childhood. Over the last few years, there has been a noticeable increase in people showing disdain, disrespect, or outright hatred for younger generations, like Millenials or Gen Z. The rise of social media has lead to more and more young people being shamed for what they enjoy, or for things very far out of their control. This obviously makes it seem that people have lost most or all of their respect for youngergenerations, since public shaming has apparently started to make a large comeback, focused on youths
ReplyDeleteThe era of standardization for elementary school children also points to them being cared for less as individuals bu society. There's a very popular comic of someone that is presented as a proctor asking a group of miscellaneous aquatic animals, and a monkey to climb a tree, which is in my opinion a very apt assessment of how the school system has been since I entered it. Children are pressed into very narrow molds, and rejected or punished if they dont fit, to the detriment of the majority.
Overall it seems very evident that society has started progressing backwards regarding children, believing that they should be seen and not heard. Children are being forced to grow up very rapidly, and having less and less time to just be children, whether it's due to the focus on issues that directly affect them like increased hours of homework, climate change, or the threat of school shootings.
Older generations have always had their gripes with younger generations, but today's youth are faced with a ridiculous number of solvable issues for no better reason than older generations are apathetic or outwardly hostile.
Before reading this article, I had thought that adolescents were mistreated by adults. Now, after reading the article, I'm in the middle of the spectrum. I have witnessed adults belittle children and treat them as a lesser, but I have also seen them be treated very fairly.
ReplyDeleteI liked the idea of the WKCD project, the Students-as-Allies
Initiative where the teachers took the advice of the children to try and make their schooling better. The goals of the initiative were to support student voice, to strengthen the relationships between students and teachers in order to bolster
school improvement efforts, to provide opportunities for students to serve as resources to their schools and communities, and to model relationship
building. It's a great opportunity to determine the problems and further educate the children.
However, I do think that some children are disrespected. A lot of students get praised while others get scolded every day. I believe students would excel more in school if teachers were more equal with their lessons towards the students.
Overall, I think that there are some positive and negative aspects on the topic of "disrespecting children."
If someone told me that America as a whole society disrespects kids, I simply wouldn't agree with them. Furthermore, after reading the article and viewing the statistics that were presented in article 23 of Disrespecting Childhood, I disagree. Children are our future and we must invest into them. Children are the ones that will eventually run this nation and take care of us.
ReplyDeleteWe as a nation invest biillions and billions into programs each year to better children and their families. For some children, eating at school may be the only meal they eat. Feeding America backpack program has been rolling strong for more than 15 years now and provides kids with meals to take home over the weekdays and weekend. According to President Trump, we spend more than $12,300 dollars each year on every student in America that is enrolled in K-12 grade which equals around $620 billion. In addition to, parents also devote their time to children and the community. Parents go to college and get educated, take classes, research and put their time towards child development, reach out to doctors, and most importantly, insure their safety.
On the other hand, the statistics for disrespecting children are very shocking and unimpressive. King solver mentioned that free school lunches has potentially been cut to nothing over the past decade. This is extremely upsetting due to the fact that schools are now "lunch shaming" children. This is a humiliating practice that some schools do if the students lunch account is in the negative or has no value. An estimated three million children in the US were suspected or possible cases of child abuse or neglect. This statistic is astonishing and shows a lack of care for our children. And, an estimated 9.3 million American children were not covered by insurance in 2002.
I agree with the notion that children are not respected in childhood. My mother is a special education teacher and she knows that some instances are more about control than anything. She can attest that disabilities such as ADHD, ADD, and autism are typically overly diagnosed with the disorders in order for parents to control them rather than parent them. It’s hard for mother to deal with sometimes, because over medicating can often lead to side effects that make it harder for the children to fit in. These are often the children who are ostracized by their peers and are typically branded as “difficult to work with” by the students. They aren’t, nor do they try to be. They simply have a hard time working with others because their behavior and mannerisms make it difficult for them because they are being medicated for something they don’t have.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing; the first lawsuit on child abuse was tried as a case against animal cruelty because there were no standards for cases of mistreatment against children. When I was younger, my mom would hug my sister and me tightly because she would be dealing with a particularly bad case at the time. Often we see cases like this and we just look away. Some adults simply don’t have time for children, and whatever makes them easier to control. There are cases where some programs are more of a babysitting service than an actual educational tool.
Dress codes are another case; while I will agree with some standards that are more extreme, they often time sexist and almost like a catalyst for certain immature behaviors.
SIde note: the above comment was done with 10 minutes before midnight the night this was due. My original post wasn't uploaded and I checked at the last minute. DO NOT JUDGE
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