Demica D. Durr
From a modern standpoint one might deduce that
it is typical for the average adolescent upon completion of secondary education
(high school) to move on towards higher education (college) and/or trade
school. As you will read that was not always the case. It is a relatively
modern invention, the idea of prolonged schooling to achieve higher levels
of education beyond high school before entering the work force. I will
examine how time
has progressed from where we were, to where
we are now in terms of adolescence,
attending school, seeking higher education,
and work as a career choice.
Early to Late 1800's
- There were no "teenagers" in early America. That is, there was no easily identifiable group of young people of certain ages who acted, dressed, or spoke in ways that were remarkably different from those of other age groups.
- boys and girls were married at age 16 or younger. As a young married couple they acted as adults.
- the general attitude was that puberty meant the young person was ready and able to do an adult’s share of work around the farm, shop, or home.
The Early 1900's
- The idea of adolescence emerged as a separate phenomenon when the child protection movement sought to rectify child labor conditions and perceived the need to educate youth during this particular age period.
- It is during this time as well that, for legal establishment in the United States adolescence begins at 16 years of age and ends at 21.
- It was often commonplace to have young people working in the fields and factories longer than normal in order to contribute to their families overall earnings. Children worked very hard and millions of families depended on the labor that was supplied by their children in order to survive.
The 1910's and 1920's
- The percentages of child labor workers were becoming low throughout due to the increasing controversy surrounding issues of child labor and its reform.
- An ever-growing number of American children began attending school. The portion of students between the ages of five and seventeen enrolled in public and private school rose from about 80% to 95%.
- Federal regulations now mandating that children between these ages be required to attend some form of formal school instruction.
- In 1929, The Great Depression occurred and gripped the country thereby forcing many of the nations children to forget school and once again return to work in order to help their families to survive.
The 1930's and 1940's
- The Great Depression ended in the late 1930s with the onset of World Wars I & II.Massive government spending and a surge of demand for many kinds of goods brought great employment opportunities.
- During this time America was most prosperous and the idea of childhood and adolescence as a separate developmental stage became more evident.
- The American work scene experienced many changes as well, little if any of the countries labor was perfomed by children and adolescents. This was due to most middle-class American families did not require the income of their children, parents had dedicated themselves to providing a better future for their children by prolonging their education. Laws kept children out of industrial work for safety reasons, others kept them out by requiring that they attend school, and labor unions actively kept them out of the workforce to ensure employment for adults.
The 1950's and 1960's
- A trend began developing among the middle-class adolescent. Many older children were finding work outside the home in areas such as retail sales and the “service” industries.
- Provided gainful benefits, such as a greater understanding of money matters, increased work orientation, and more self-reliance.
- Young adolescents are keeping their earnings and spending them on themselves, and as a result children working was more for their personal development and growth than anything else.
- School throughout this time period remained the same. The movement of children and adolescents attending school, and remaining in school and moving onward to higher degrees began taking precedence over entering the workforce.
1970's to the Present
- Most children still do not have to work to provide for the family. Employment is for their own personal reasons. More than anything seeking higher education is so much the norm in order to obtain the highly coveted professional and white-collar careers that our society has placed in high prestige.
- Due to the surge of people entering and graduating from college, and the onset of the computer-age it is now necessary for young people to be computer literate.
- Modern technology has caused the deskilling of segments of the labor force, making certain jobs routine, boring, unimaginative, and making it unnecessary to hire a live body.
- It is now increasingly more difficult to acquire employment in these fields. Examples include, automated bank tellers, and electronic grocery store cashiers.
- Schools equip students with cognitive and noncognitive skills relevant to their occupational futures, and with the taste for acquiring more such skills and knowledge.
- Our world continues to expand and grow. Increased emphasis will be placed on receiving not only one Baccalaureate degree but also several. It seems that education is the answer to fitting in as a productive member of society.
REFERENCES
Conger, J.J., & Galambos, N.L. (1997). Adolescence and youth: Psychological Development in the Changing World. New York: Longman.
Cote`, J.E., & Anton, A.L. (1994). Generation on hold: Coming of age in the late twentieth Century. New York: New York University Press.
West. E. (1996). Growing up in the twentieth-century America. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Coleman, J.S. (1974). Youth: Transition to adulthood. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.