Exercise 51. Read the text and answer the questions below.

Think of all the changes that take place in the human body during adolescence. There is perhaps no other time in our lives when we experience so many dramatic and, often, conflicting fluctuations. A comforting fact is that everyone goes through this process in order to get to adulthood.

Your parents went through the same changes and they shared some of the same concerns. True, the environment they grew up in was quite a bit different from the one in which you are now living, but many of the feelings and problems are similar.

"Act your age" or "That's so immature." How are adolescents supposed to act? What does being mature mean?

Physical and sexual maturity takes place during adolescence. Mental, emotional, and social growth and maturity are also an important part of adolescence.

Young people want to be treated more adultlike. They want to start taking on new responsibilities or duties. However, most adults do not automatically give teens more responsibility, i.e., using the car, staying out later, traveling alone. Gradually, as young people demonstrate that they can handle certain tasks and can be trusted; adults allow them more opportunities to take on additional responsibilities.

The phenomenon of adolescence has been carefully studied by psychologists and sociologists for over 100 years. They have identified certain developmental tasks that can be considered basic to adolescence. A developmental task is something that needs to occur during a particular age period for a person to continue his or her growth toward becoming a healthy, mature adult.

A well-known sociologist suggests that there are nine such tasks worked on throughout the teen years and often into one's twenties. They are:

1) forming more mature relationships with peers of both sexes;

2) achieving a masculine or feminine social role;

3) accepting one's physique and using one's body effectively;

4) achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults;

5) preparing for marriage and family life;

6) preparing for a career;

7) acquiring a set of personal standards as a guide to behavior;

8) developing social intelligence;

9) developing conceptual and problem-solving skills.

During adolescence important cognitive (intellectual) development takes place. That is, you begin to learn higher level thinking skills. As a child, you were what is called a concrete thinker. What you saw was what existed.

During adolescence you develop abstract thinking ability, that is, you are able to consider alternatives and examine consequences. You can better understand cause and effect relationships.

During adolescence, your ability to think logically – reason things out – increases. You can begin to be able to solve more complicated problems. Your thinking becomes more flexible.

Puberty is the period of growth from physical childhood to physical adulthood – a time when an individual becomes capable of reproduction. It is characterized by rapid, uneven physical growth. Although everyone goes through all the changes, each person's timeline is different. There is no other time in our lives when there is such a great variation in sizes and shapes of people who are the same age.

Each individual grows at a certain pace, and each one develops secondary sex characteristics at certain times during adolescence. Prior to the appearance of these characteristics there is little physical difference between boys and girls other than the genital organs. With the onset of puberty similarities disappear. Height, weight, hair, breast development, body hair growth and genital growth all occur.

1. Did parents have problems different from their children's fluctuations during adolescence?

2. What are the aspects of adolescent maturity?

3. When do adults give teens more responsibilities?

4. What cognitive development takes place during adolescence?

5. What changes occur with the onset of puberty?

B. Compare and contrast:

1) masculine and feminine social roles;

2) concrete and abstract thinking;

3) social intelligence and personal identity;

4) puberty and maturity;

5) teenagers and adults.

Exercise 52.

A. Prepare a talk beginning with the sentence:

Becoming a mature, healthy adult involves...

B. Listen to your group-mates' talks, take notes of the new (not mentioned by you) points, discuss the controversial ones and unite your efforts a creating a final list of at least a dozen well-grounded arguments in favor of considering oneself a healthy and mature male or female.

Exercise 53. Have you ever thought that adolescence is probably the most difficult time for making vital decisions? Translate the following text and discuss it (argue, if you don't see eye to eye with the author's stand and the suggested course of action, counter or even delete them). What other vital problems do teenagers occasionally have to tackle? Explain them.

Carol was sixteen, and she thought she was in love. Her boyfriend, a smooth talker, used every line imaginable to get what he wanted from Carol. He promised to love and care for her forever, and so one night in the back seat of his car, Carol became pregnant. Soon the guy who promised to love and care for her went away, and Carol's life was forever altered.

Should Carol have known better? Of course. Was she to blame? Certainly. However, it's not a new story. In fact, teen pregnancy is more of a problem than ever, despite all that sex education in schools. The problem and its solutions are well publicized, so everyone knows the pregnant teen's options: abortion or motherhood at a ridiculously early age. What most people have not considered, however, is who should make the decision: the teenage girl or her parents. By law, the teen is entitled to make the decision, and that is just how it should be.

The most obvious reason that the teenage mother should decide is that she is the biological parent and hence the responsible party. In the purest physiological sense, the decision is hers to make. Many parents argue, however, that while the girl may make the decision, it is the parents who will bear the responsibility because they will have to house the girl and her child, as well as provide financial support. Parents looking forward to the end of the bulk of their own parenting responsibilities may feel particularly burdened by continued support of their daughter and grandchild. That is certainly unfortunate, but two things must be remembered. Parenthood has no ending date, so the daughter – pregnant or not – remains the parents' responsibility. They are thus obligated to care for the girl and her child. Also, the financial burden and crowded house will be temporary. Once the girl graduates from school and gets a job, she can move out and be more self-supporting. True, she may still need some help, but her need should gradually lessen.

In addition to the financial aspect, the emotional aspect must be considered. If parents force their daughter to give up or abort her child when she does not want to, the decision will haunt her the rest of her life, filling her with pain and regret from which she may never recover. Imagine the poor girl spending her life wondering about the child she never knew and hating herself and her parents. What kind of life would that be?

Many parents would argue that the teenager lacks sufficient maturity to make such a decision. No one will argue that a teenager is mature enough to fully appreciate the ramifications of her decisions. However, parents, her doctor, and counselors can provide her with information, and she will have to make the best decision she can with that information. Then she will have to live with that decision. Even adults are forced to make important decisions before they are ready, and they do the same thing: they get information, make the best decision they can at the time, and live with it. That part of life never changes, regardless of age.

Finally, the most important reason the teenage girl should be allowed to make the decision is that she probably knows in her heart what is best for her and the child. Her parents may think they know, but the girl is the better judge. Furthermore, the parents may decide according to what is best for them rather than their daughter.

Teenage pregnancy is a serious, ongoing problem for both the girl and her parents. The best way to deal with the decision about the baby is to provide the girl with all the information possible about her options and their consequences. Counseling by social workers, religious leaders, and psychologists can help. During this process, the parents should provide love, support, and acceptance. Then they must stand back and let their daughter make the decision.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16