Who are Youth? What is Childhood?

 The readings on Who are Youth? and What is Childhood? have truly left me speechless. There is so much to say and I don't even know where to start. Nancy Lesko's article focuses on beliefs that come from the 1800s and 1900s. The first one was the idea that "adolescent was a vehicle to discuss the means to secure strong wills and disciplined bodies among middle-class white males." Adolescent were a tool that adults used to manage society without asking or taking into consideration the thoughts of the people in this case,  the youth, and how it would impact them in the long run. Another idea that made my stomach turn was about adolescent males and that when surrounded by females this lead to them being weaker. The idea that a mother could harm their male son because it could make them less of a person is something that doesn't sit well with me, in particular because I believe there is more to females and there is a bond that connect a mother to a son. The second idea that "adolescents are controlled by hormones and therefore, dangerously out of control." Do adults not deal with hormones, and life situation that also lead to dangerous situation that get out of control? This does not only happen in the adolescent stages, I see this as something that can happen at many different moments in life. Lastly, the third characterizations "adolescents are strongly peer oriented." While, I can see some meaning to this, it is also the adult in that child's life, the environment and experiences that can impact the decisions, not just peers. From personal experiences, conversations is a strong key to dealing with adolescent, I have learned that one when working with adolescent one must  hear and observe more than talk. I think how one has been raised, and the things we see in today's media can also impact the stereotypes and beliefs of adolescents. We live in a society in which we think adolescents know it all, when in reality they are looking for guidance and acknowledgement. 

John Bell's article left me thinking about moments in my past, but also in the present and my day to day work with adolescent. This idea of adultism and how to best work with them allows me to realize that this age group is the one I want to continue working with. As I read this article I couldn't help, but think back to 11th grade, and the interaction that I had with an English teacher. The funny part is that I had known this teacher for 3 years. First, they were a librarian at my middle school, and then I got stuck with them in 8th grade English. While during those two years there was little interaction, it wasn't until 11th grade that truly left a mark. I recall reading Shakespeare's "A Midnight Summer's Dream," and one day in class as we were discussing yet another chapter of the book, the teacher randomly went around asking students what they thought of Shakespeare, they got to me and I responded by saying "I hate Shakespeare." Every year we had read yet another book by him, and it felt like we spent all year reading him, and me having no understanding as to why it was so important. The teacher got offended, and yelled at me to "Get out!" The students in the classroom froze, as they couldn't understand why I was being yelled at and told to go to the office.  Many saying, "Ms., you asked her a question and she responded." Unfortunately, the teacher wasn't having it, and I left the room and went to the office. Until this day, I never understood why the teacher reacted the way she did, and certainly led to me shutting down in that class, not to mention I wasn't the most vocal in the first place.