Teaching Teens—A Failure Or Impossibility? Essay, Research Paper

Teaching Teens – a failure or an impossibility? In today’s society, teenagers lack the concentration necessary as a student. Phone calls are often made home to parents informing them that their child has skipped class again. Teens are growing up and trying to be more independent. They are becoming more active than before and they are influenced by their peer groups. Therefore, teaching teenagers has become an impossibility. Firstly, it is impossible to teach teenagers because they are developing their independence. As they grow up, they tend to have their own opinions. Teenagers feel that they have reached adulthood, and thus they should have control of their lives. Teens frequently want to make their own decisions, therefore, they often reject the advice that given to them by their teachers or parents. Thus it is very hard to for teachers to teach these teenagers because they feel that they know everything, and they will try to challenge teachers in class by contradicting or be disruptive during classes. Secondly, teaching teenagers is impossible because they are becoming more and more active. Teens feel that there are so many other things to do than to attend class everyday. They have lost their interest to learn at school. They are bored of the material that is covered in the curriculum. Whenever they are in the classroom, they are either asleep or doing something else. Even if they do listen, they are not doing it to learn, but just for their marks. The teenagers wear their hats indoors, insulting one another, not respecting anyone in the school. The main thing that really goes through their minds is that they cannot wait until the end of day when they can do whatever they want. For example, going out with friends, playing video games at the arcade, and so on.

Finally, the last reason why I think it is impossible to teach teens is because they are often influenced and affected by their peer groups. Whatever the teen’s friends do, the teen follows, in fear of rejection or being ostracized, copying their friends’ every move. Since there are so many things in the city to do that is more fun than being in school, they skip classes all the time. If their friends skip to go shopping, then the teen follows. As mentioned before, parents are always receiving phone calls from the school telling them time after another that their child has not been attending class. Obviously, if the teen does not attend class, they would fall behind on their schoolwork. They will not make the initiative to find out what they have missed from classmates or teachers. As time passes by, their marks drop tremendously causing them to fail their courses. This is the reason teaching teens is impossible. In conclusion, there are many factors why I think teaching teens is impossible. I understand this problem myself because I am a teenager who often thinks that I’m an adult and reject many of the suggestions my parents make. This causes a problem to the teachers in school, therefore, changes are needed. Influencing my peers to be good in school and try to make it possible for teachers to teach teens would definitely be a prospective goal up ahead!