Death Note: Perhaps the most famous Japanese manga (graphic novel) ever written
Mangas are the new popular genre of literature currently sweeping through the world’s youth. Are they something which should be accepted or encouraged by teachers and parents? Are they worthy of respect? This post will address those questions.
One of my teenage students is consumed with mangas, and this is how I came to know about them. After investigating, I think the genre is worthy of respect, and something teachers and parents would benefit from knowing about. However, they would like to know:
–What are mangas? Why have they become popular? What is the attraction?
–Are they acceptable? Are they an art form, or are they trash?
–Should they be encouraged, or discouraged?
It took me a little while to understand what mangas were. They are essentially Japanese graphic novels that span the entire gamut of fiction experiences covered in more traditional literature. The best and most popular mangas are made into animé series. Both mangas and animé feature characters with neotenic features.
Simple and imaginative stories for children, which often teach morals and other good values, focusing on friendship, and solutions to problems.
Shojo: for teenage girls, ages 10-18
Female lead characters, focusing on romance, interpersonal relationships, but also with action and adventure.
Josei: for adult women.
Featuring adult women characters (and sometimes male lead characters), in action adventures, slice-of-life, realistic interpersonal relationships, romance, and serious subjects.
Shonen: for boys under age 15
Young male heroes, focused on action, adventure, and fighting.
Great Teacher Onizuka, a humorous series about the problems of a young male teacher, is also for the shonen demographic.
Seinen – for young adult men, ages 15-24, but including men ages 25-50
Tend to be psychological or action thriller/adventures (with more violence than Shonen). One Quora writer stated that seinen plots ae similar to Game of Thrones.
Mangas and Animé in Asia
In Asia, mangas and animé are read and watched voraciously by ALL age groups. Why?
Because animé can be produced much more cheaply than movies with real people, animé makes it possible to have a much wider variety of themes; it is essentially a pulp-fiction market. Therefore, many ideas can be explored which are non-existent in Western media culture. Authors have a much higher level of freedom to explore their ideas than do authors in the West. However, readers/watchers in the West are more hesitant to share that they are manga/animé fans, as most non-Asian adults don’t yet consider it acceptable and normal, as it is in Asia.
What Are the Manga and Animé that My Teenager Is Reading/Watching?
If you are a parent or teacher who is worried whether mangas and animé are acceptable–if your teenager is watching animé series–I suggest sitting down and watching a series with your child, right from the beginning. You might be surprised to find it captivating. Even if you decide to watch only a few episodes, you will then have an idea what it is about.
Alternatively, I suggest watching some of the Death Note series linked to above. I have provided one link with subtitles, and another link that is dubbed in English (voice-over), and a third link dubbed in French. These series are all produced in Japanese, and your teenager may be watching them reading subtitles. Mangas, written in Japan, are now produced and sold in English, and many other languages.
Persepolis Text Example
So far, I haven’t personally seen or read a manga, but I have read one graphic novel, Persepolis. This is a true story of a teenager who grew up in Iran after the Iranian Revolution. I was really shocked when I found it being read in English class in our local high school, as an assigned book. I then read it myself, and it changed my opinion. It was an interesting story which held my attention. I included a photo of the text above so that readers may see just how the text looks, and what the reading level is.
I thought about poor readers. There was quite a bit of reading here, and in a format more accessible to poor readers. Also, teenagers who are extremely visually-oriented may be able to read this more than a traditional novel. This doesn’t mean we should discourage traditional novels, but I do think there is room for graphic novels, as well.
I have watched both entire series of Death Note and Onizuka. I thought they were both good series. Some parents ask if Death Note is advisable for preteen girls and boys. I would say yes. While the story initially seems a bit macabre, it’s actually about a boy who finds a notebook, then discovers that if someone’s name is written in the notebook, that person will die. So he decides to start doing good in the world by getting rid of all the serious criminals. But after some time he becomes tempted by the power he has, and begins to use the power of the notebook toward his own personal gain. This leads him down a morally-dark path. However, these are just the sorts of moral dilemmas our children and pre-teens are dealing with every day. Our children endure daily conflicts with other students, teachers and parents–some of which lead to thoughts of revenge. Such issues are explored through this medium of fiction, just as they are in other fiction mediums.
It’s been some time since I watched Death Note, but as I recall, it has a morally good ending. Onizuka was good, but in my opinion, not appropriate for pre-teens. I’d say it’s more appropriate for older teens and adults. It also deals with realistic moral issues in a humorous way.
Most mangas and animé series seem to be dealing with action, adventure, relationships, and moral issues–exactly the same issues seen in all fiction mediums. Yes, the format is different, but let’s now look at why some people like it.
Why Some People Enjoy Mangas and Animé
Getting Involved in Characters’ Lives and Ongoing Situations: Many popular animé series have many, many episodes, similar to watching a whole series. Sixty to one hundred episodes are very common. A few even have 900 episodes, comparable to watching a soap opera that goes on for years. This means that during the day, while doing other things, they may be eager to get back to the manga or animé to find out what happens next, and they may be thinking about the story and the characters’ lives and dilemmas. (This is just how any of us feel while reading a good fiction book or when we are caught up in watching a series or daily soap opera). In other words, the plots are really amazing, and the reader/viewer cares what happens to the characters. Many plot lines are very complex, deal with many real-life issues on the cutting edge of current life.
It’s a good, positive way to relax. Students have daily stresses from school, interpersonal relationships, homework, and physical activities and responsibilities. Just as any good book or program can transport us to another place, and another life, so can mangas and animé. Emotional involvement in the characters’ lives and dilemmas transports us far from our own problems, gives us a break, and returns us to our own lives refreshed, and more ready to deal with our own situations. Reading/watching offers us a fantasy escape from our real lives, or even just an enjoyable fantasy adventure. Also, seeing characters’ successfully resolve their dilemmas helps us gain positivity that we can, in fact, successfully resolve our own dilemmas.
Manga and animé fans really enjoy this type of artwork. Neotenous figures (characters with juvenile-appearing characteristics, maintained into maturity are very popular in Japanese society and culture) are a particular feature of both manga images and animé characters of all ages (and of many people in Japanese society). One feature of the character artwork which is highly appreciated by fans is the way through which characters show their emotions through artwork, rather than through words. Stress might be shown by beads of sweat falling from the forehead, or excitement might be shown by the way a character’s hair is moving. These sorts of things can be done in animé, but would be difficult to do with live, human characters.
Before we are too critical of someone liking this sort of artwork, we need to remember that all artwork is primarily a matter of personal taste. For example, my personal preference is very realistic drawing and paintings, while other people seem to enjoy modern art. While I personally cringe at both modern art and animé art, everyone has the right to their own personal preferences.
Should you be worried if your children or your students like animé?
After investigating this topic, I would say NO, DON’T WORRY.
While the most popular series can be dubbed so that they can be listened to in your child’s own language, most animé is in Japanese, and your child will be forced to read subtitles in order to watch it. While the language is not complicated, there is still a lot of useful vocabulary in the reading. Even if it is not traditional reading, AT LEAST IT IS READING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY (which is a lot better than many young people are doing today).
Even in stories that contain action and violence, the characters are usually acting out of motivations such as saving their friends, or saving the world. In cases where characters begin to act selfishly, viewers see the moral problems this creates, and see the bad results the character brings upon himself.
As a parent, I would much rather have my child or teenager watching animé and thinking about all the issues presented, instead of a lot of less productive and less positive activities he or she could be up to.
As a teacher, it’s our job to expose students to various kinds of literature. If students can realize that the teacher knows about mangas and can appreciate why some people could enjoy mangas and animé, students will also be more open to engaging with the teacher and class regarding more traditional literature.
I highly recommend to all teachers and parents to watch some or all of the Death Noteseries, at the links I have provided YouTube). You will find the story surprisingly interesting, and your students will impressed that you have watched it. It will give you another way to engage with your child, or with your students. (Personally, I watch most of the series that teenagers tell me they are watching, and I recommend it to you, too.)
The flipped classroom is just not appropriate for all subjects, all of the time. This educational fad has gone way too far, and is being used for the wrong reasons. Most importantly, it runs into problems when teachers attempt to use it as a time-saving device in order to cover more material, because only a small percentage of students’ reading levels are actually up to grade level.
While the flipped classroom sounds like a new idea, it is actually an old idea. Several decades ago, it was called preparation–a good name–in Britain, although I am not aware of any specific name for it in America. It often consisted of reading a selection in a text book before arriving in class, for example, so that one could better benefit from a lecture.
The flipped model works extremely well for math classes. As an elementary teacher, I would look each day at the following day’s homework section. I would give about fifteen minutes of instruction and guided practice specifically on what my third graders needed to complete that day’s homework. We did not waste time in class doing homework.
I expected all children arrive in class with their homework complete, in order to be ready for the most important part of the lesson, learning from mistakes. Right or wrong, they all got nice, big A‘s on the homework for completing it in pencil (including showing all work and carry numbers or cross-outs). If they did not show their work, or if the work was either undone, or incomplete, they got a large, red F. Within a short time EVERY child arrived daily with homework done. We then put pencils away, and got out ink pens which we called “marking pens.” Each child corrected their own paper. There was no incentive to erase wrong answers, because the child already had an A, just for completing the homework. We spent the following 30 minutes going over the problems missed by the largest numbers of students, working them on the board. Students learned so much when they could see where they went wrong. In most cases, we found errors such as subtracting the ones place, while adding the ten’s place, in the same problem–or, in forgetting to add in carry numbers, things like that. In math class, the flipped classroom works fantastically.
Using the flipped classroom as a time-saving device runs into trouble in subjects which require a lot of reading for two reasons. One reason is that in many good schools, students are feeling overwhelmed with the amount of homework, leading them to take ineffective shortcuts. Using Spark Notes, and similar services, just do not engage student interest, and students miss the benefit of the literature.
The most important reason the flipped classroom runs into trouble is that students’ reading levels are just not up to grade-level standard in terms of being able to read either text books, or literature, on their own.
This problem is not new. It was widespread in the 1970s and 1980s. Secondary teachers in Colorado at that time were required to take Reading in the Content Area. It was a course designed to help secondary teachers help students who were unable to read their textbooks adequately. Because of the decline in book reading and adequate reading instruction, together with the rise in technology, in 2013, more than two-thirds of students in the United States were now below reading level for their grade.
Unfortunately, today, most students, even some of the best students are not even attempting to read literature (or their history, or science, text books). Most are attempting to find the film online. Poor readers who attempt to read Spark Notes have trouble understanding even that, and certainly no one finds Spark Notes inspiring.
Many secondary English teachers (including elementary reading teachers, and secondary science and history teachers) are now assigning reading for homework, in order to cover more material and just have discussion in class. The problem with this is that two-thirds of students are either not able to read effectively, and do not even attempt to read because of feeling overwhelmed.
So what do teachers need to do in order to combat these problems effectively?
First, they need to read the book (or text book section) themselves, in the mindset of a student, thinking about vocabulary which many students may not know, and noting it down. They need to think about the major ideas and how those ideas relate to life today.
Next, they need to introduce the book or reading selection with a short, inspirational talk, that will make students feel like they can’t wait to read more! They need to talk about and explain vocabulary (whether it is old-fashioned language or science terms) before students start to read. History teachers need to think about the problems they are teaching about in a historical context and how those problems relate to life in the world somewhere today. Introduce the similar problems and questions of today and how they are being dealt with in the modern world, then look at the same questions in how they are being dealt with in the novel, or in history, or in the science text book. Discuss what could happen in the future with the same issues.
Rather than starting a unit with reading the text book or novel, start the unit with a discussion of the students’ life questions about the issues which will arise in the reading selection Here are three examples:
History: While studying various political decisions of Roman Emperors, first discuss similar problems in the modern world. Open with a question, “What do you think about when you hear of an apartment building collapse that kills people because of shoddy building practices? What should be done?” Or, “What’s it like to be stuck in rush-hour traffic? What would it be like if the highway were also clogged with pedestrians, donkey carts, and horse-drawn carriages all at the same time, and it happened four times a day instead of two times a day?” Then, “Now let’s see how they dealt with these same problems in ancient Rome.”
Rhett loves Scarlet, while Scarlet loves Ashley and uses Rhett, in Gone with the Wind
Literature: “How many of you have ever had the experience of being in love with someone, only to have that person be in love with a different, third person?” Then, “The problem of love triangles is universal throughout human history, and that’s what this novel is about.”
Science (Astronomy): “Does alien life exist on other planets, or in other galaxies? What do various current scientists think about this, and why? Which planets and stars are most likely for this? What kinds of planetary conditions are thought to be necessary? Could we actually travel to other stars or planets, and how long might it take?” Then, “Now let’s turn to the text book and begin reading together about the planets.”
Lastly, MUCH more time needs to be devoted to in-class reading (even in high school). If teachers are concerned about embarrassing some students reading aloud, or if there are poor oral readers, students benefit greatly (even in high school) from the teacher reading aloud well (and adding in inflections and pauses), while they follow along. It also gives everyone a chance to stop and discuss various points, such as how they feel about actions characters take, or what situations they find themselves in.
Teachers need to inspire and motivatestudents, and help students to see connections that they would not see on their own. If the teacher is excited about the material, he cannot help but communicate that love and excitement to the students.
These days, the only jobs not requiring a college degree, or some kind of post-high school training or certificate course are in manual labor, or the very lowest rung of service positions. These include fast food, waitressing, and retail sales and stocking. The lucky few who are both hard workers and happen to get noticed, can still work their way up into management from the inside, but the percentage of people able to do this is fairly low, compared to the number of workers.
Many of the jobs now requiring college degrees used to require only high school degrees in the 1950s. Why, then, are college degrees required now for jobs such as insurance adjuster, salesperson of insurance or office equipment, higher-levels of office assistants, and most office jobs, even though many of these jobs pay relatively low white-collar salaries? Why are employers requiring college degrees, without caring too much what subject the future employee has a degree in? The reason is that they feel it is indicative of the person’s quality. It’s proof to an employer that they will hire someone with sufficient reading, writing, and critical thinking ability. It weeds out the people who can’t make it through college because of weak reading/writing abilities. Good reading/writing abilities are a good indication of good thinking abilities and adequate arithmetic skills for use in everyday life business situations.
In the 1950s, a high school degree was indicative of the good skills which a college degree indicates today. Now that most people graduate from high school, many people seem to have that piece of paper, but still haven’t mastered basic arithmetic in order to be able to do business math, and cannot read, write, think, or speak, at the level employers require in a white-collar office setting. Before I had a college degree, I worked as an executive secretary (and had taken courses in a secretarial school to be able to do so). Later, when I was in a management position in a bank, and was hiring an executive assistant, I asked for a typing speed of 70 words per minute as one of the hiring qualifications. Why? It was not because we had a lot of things to type; it was because excellent typing skills are the best indicator that a potential assistant really has good skills in all areas. Similarly, a college degree is the best current indicator to an employer that they are hiring someone who has the general reading, writing, critical thinking, intelligence, and public presentation abilities that they want. Now a graduate degree is usually required to get a higher-paying job in a specialized field. The one exception to this might be in any type of engineering.
What we are really fighting today is the process of technology advancing to take over higher-and-higher level jobs. First we saw low-wage manual labor taken over by robots. Next we saw most former middle-class jobs outsourced to third-world countries as their workers became educated–for example, our lower-level legal research formerly performed by new lawyers, now being outsourced to India. Accounting work, such as tax returns, are now being outsourced over the internet to trained accountants in India. In both cases, their foreign salaries are far less than would have been paid in America. Now there is talk of replacing fast-food service workers and restaurant service workers with robotic solutions. Some of these are already being tried out in Asia.
A computer-scientist friend of mine from Silicon Valley claims very convincingly that it is only a matter of time before all jobs are taken over by computers. He claims that it is only a matter of time before computers will be able to repair themselves and no longer require humans to do so. He further claims that even scientific research no longer need humans, as the way to solve a problem is to throw a lot of research at one area, trying many things until a solution is found. He points out that computers are far more efficient at doing this than humans. I always imagined that Hal, the computer, in 2001: A Space Odyssey, could never be a reality, but my friend insists this is not nearly as far off as people think. If my friend is right, then we can look forward to a world without work, where all work is done by machines.
Unfortunately,in a capitalist world, this might be an unattractive future for many people, as how will they live, or get money to live? The European socialist model might work better in a world without work, as machines produce, and the benefits from that are divided among all. Different countries, capitalist or socialist, might take different paths toward dealing with the future problem of a world without work. This is a frightening prospect, indeed. Will some countries of the world divide ever further, in a world without work, between haves and have-nots, while others create socialist utopias? Or will the countries of the world divide between those who can afford computers and robots to do work, while those without robots employ humans as the lowest-wage slave labor?
Cursive – the new undecipherable secret code script!
Cursive was taught in my school until four years ago. When I left, the school discontinued it as a regular subject. Now those students are in upper elementary and early middle school, and can neither read nor write in cursive writing.
Among my tutoring students, several of them have expressed to me their sadness that their older brothers and sisters can read and write in cursive, and they cannot. Still being in the first few classes not to learn cursive, they feel babyish and incompetent. Perhaps in subsequent years, this embarrassment will disappear when none of the new students have older brothers and sisters who know cursive, when they don’t. In another six or seven years, no one will know it, and it will seem normal to upcoming students. It’s only those in these transition years who will feel the loss. But they will feel it for the rest of their lives.
How many adults remember the childhood feeling of waiting to learn “grown-up” writing, or scribbling to other young friends (at the age of five or six) on a paper and bragging, “I know how to write in cursive?” Of course, at that age, no one knew, so your friends believed you, because they couldn’t read it, either!
When I tutor these students, I have to slow down and print (much more time-consuming). Of course these students also will never be able to read historical documents or even old family letters. Furthermore, most European and Latin American countries don’t teach printing at all–they teach only cursive script starting at the age of five. I feel this bodes poorly for a future globalized world.
I’d be happy to teach cursive to these students (being an expert cursive teacher), but that is not what I’m being paid to tutor in–we generally spend the time on math, science, reading, and writing. Furthermore, teaching cursive at an older age can be done, but it is not generally enjoyable as it is for children. It makes children feel grown-up, and they enjoy learning it.
When I started teaching elementary school (as a second career in 1995), I was very surprised to find all the new textbooks now referring to the centigrade scale as the Celsius scale. Of course they are the same thing, but I wondered why the textbooks were now using this term when I had never heard it growing up. Now, I know why.
The short answer is that people continue to call a thing by the same name they, themselves, learned while growing up. Most adults, and just about everyone in academia through the 1980s, grew up hearing “centigrade” and continued to use that term with their own students throughout high school and university.
The new name, “Celsius,” disturbed me ever since I began hearing it in the mid-1990s; but now that I know there was an actual reason for the name change, it no longer bothers me. A unit of measurement, called a “grade,” was actually in use. Therefore, in 1948, the Conference General de Pois et Measures (in France) decided to change the name of the scale to “Celsius.”
The International System of Units
A second reason for the change in name was that the Conference General de Pois et Measures decided that “All common temperature scales would have their units named after someone closely associated with them; namely, Kelvin, Celsius, Fahrenheit, Réaumur and Rankine.”
The change in elementary-school textbooks began to take place around 1968, and during the 1970s, as districts began to replace their former textbooks. In the meantime, parents, scientists, and college professors continued to use the name they had grown up with. Only students born in the 1970s and later would have grown up calling the scale “Celsius.” (I continue to catch myself saying “centigrade” to my own students.)
In England, the BBC Weather did not begin using the term Celsius until 1985, and the word centigrade continues to to be commonly used in England, according to some sources.
Swedish Astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744)
The centigrade scale was known as such from 1743-1954. In 1948, the scale was renamed the Celsius scale, after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701-1744) who developed a SIMILAR scale (but not actually the same scale). Interestingly, Celsius’ original scale was the reverse of today’s scale; “0” indicated the boiling point of water, while “100” indicated the freezing point of water.
Swedish Zoologist and Botanist Carolus Linnaeus(1708-1777)
The Swedish zoologist and botanist, Carolus Linnaeus (1707-1778), remembered for giving us the basis of taxonomy (classification of living things into genus and species), reversed Celsius’ original scale so that “0” indicated the freezing point of water, while “100” indicated the boiling point. As the older generations retire and pass away, the new name change will become universal. It seems to take about three generations for a name change to really become universally accepted in society.
The Arab World does not hate America because of their materialistic culture, their television programs, or their freedoms. It’s not about that. The real reasons behind the anti-American protests come down to an imbalance of power between the United States and the Arab World.
This week, one of my students commented on the recent violence occurring in reaction to the anti-Islamic video and the French caricatures. She expressed a viewpoint which has merit, but which I have not seen reported elsewhere. Quoting my student:
“The Muslims feel in competition with the West. They feel that they have to be better, on top, the winners. Every time the West does something, even on television, Arabs feel they have to compete. For example, when America created the show America’s Got Talent, the Arab World created Arabs Who Have Talent. When the West created The Voice (with Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton) the Arab World created The Voice in the Arab World. To copy American Idol, they created Arab Idol. They copy every single thing! They always feel in competition with America, because they feel America hates them, and does not like Arabs. They always feel they have to be the best, but particularly better than America, most of all.”
Egyptian Winner of Arab Idol
My student also explained that the reason Muslim populations always take the side against the United States in international disputes is that they feel the REASON America doesn’t help Palestine is because they are Muslim, and that they help Israel because they are Jewish. (Of course, not every person believes this, but generally speaking, it is quite commonly believed, even among the well-educated.) “Here,” my student said, “they always take the side against America because they believe America doesn’t help Palestine because they are Muslim; they help Israel because they are Jewish.”
Today I watched to see what the reaction in third-world countries would be to the second print-run of the French caricatures. Surprisingly, I found only very minor protests against France, and continued protests against the U.S., such as mobs burning the U.S. flag and pictures of President Obama in Pakistan.
Why were the protests against France so feeble, while weeks after the YouTube video, the protests against America continue so strongly?
A BBC interview with Pakistanis, on the streets of Lahore following the protest, also supports this same point-of-view my student had. The BBC asked, “Where is all the anger coming from? Is it all over a low-budget movie, or is it something else?” Half of the respondents said it was because of hurt feelings over religious insults, while the other half said something different:
“They’re not just angry because of the movie. They have their personal political issues, their personal problems. They are angry about the wars (U.S. power in the region).”
“Whenever the powerful countries try to take over the resources of the weaker countries (how America is perceived in the entire Middle East), obviously the people living in those countries will try to protect their rights, and try to protect their resources. Every country should have equal rights with every other country (angry about lack of power).”
“They are angry over poverty and unemployment. There are many rich people and very poor people, and the difference is very great. They are angry because they don’t have enough food, and mostly because they don’t have enough power. So they are not just angry because of a simple movie.
Basically it comes down to a question of power. Those who are choosing to protest actually have underlying anger issues at the United States that go far beyond the YouTube film. What they are angry about is the imbalance of power–that the United States seems so overwhelmingly more powerful than the Muslim countries, and the Arab World. There were comparatively few protests against France because France does not have the same overwhelming power and influence when compared to Muslim countries.
At the end of my discussion with my student, I asked, “So, what you are saying is that the only way to get the Arab World to stop protesting against America is to stop helping Israel, and to become weak (at least weak enough to be no threat to the Arab World)?”
As a parent or teacher (even outside of America, and regardless of your religion or lifestyle), have you tried to instill proper values and behavior in your own children or students, yet watched while the following values and behavior appeared instead? Have you wondered where this has been coming from?
Requesting a bulldog
Popularity of sushi
Proliferation of fake ID’s and even younger high school students attempting to use them
Underage drinking, even at home parties, where parents leave and let children party alone
Obsession with champagne
A sudden interest in learning Burlesque dancing
Requesting or attempting underage driving
Obsession with Ivy League colleges
Teenage obsession with wearing only “designer” dresses
Thinking it’s not normal for parents to make a “curfew” time
The idea that even young teenagers “go where they want, and do what they want,” and that “their parents give them the freedom to do so just like adults;” they TELL their parents what they are doing, rather than ASK them.
Girls (even young girls) acting in a sexually aggressive manner toward boys (girls insisting that they both take off clothes)
Girls thinking that it’s normal to date older men secretly without their parents knowing about it
Thinking that normal parents just go to bed, and “don’t wait up for their high school children who come home late.”
Sassy, angry attitude toward any parents who question any of the above assumptions!
The idea that “success” in life equates ONLY to how much money you have, and how “glamorous” you appear to others!
Honesty, dependability, responsibility, and/or service to humanity are unfashionable, boring, stupid, and undesirable
Kindness to others is “out;” while “one-upsmanship” and rude “put-downs” at the expense of others are “in”
An expectation that life is supposed to be one continuous “party”
Any parent or teacher who is having trouble understanding teenage values and behavior today should IMMEDIATELY watch the three television series Beverly Hills 90210 ; Gossip Girl; and 90210 (a different show than Beverly Hills 90210). Even watching a couple of episodes of each show will give you an idea of where this culture is coming from. (Click on these titles for direct links to the series which should work worldwide. Make sure to start with Season 1, Episode 1.) These new values are coming directly from television.
Unfortunately, teenagers are now watching these shows WORLDWIDE. Some are watching on the internet, in English (especially with the global rise in study of English, it is now accessible). But in most countries, these shows are now dubbed in local languages, and right on the television. Not only is American culture changing, but world culture is assuming that these TV shows represent traditional American values (which they most assuredly do NOT).
The people who made these shows recognized that they are FANTASIES of how teenagers WISH their lives were. That’s what makes them fun to watch. However, unfortunately, the children who grew up watching these (without any input from their parents) grew up assuming that this is what they WOULD be able to do as teenagers, and now, the upper middle classes ARE DOING it. Some of the middle class parents don’t know that their children are behaving this way. Among more conservative families, parents should BEWARE if their child asks to spend the night with another family, because they are often going out, or even sneaking out to nightclubs. It doesn’t help that the full age of majority in many countries is 18, rather than 21.
I live in the Middle East, and throughout our region, this is exactly how most teenagers are behaving. The emphasis in our region is all on appearances to create the impression with others that you are rich (even if you are not). Most of those who are rich turn their children (even girls) loose with plenty of money and the family chauffeur (usually driving an expensive, black, four-wheel-drive vehicle) for the weekend. They certainly don’t wait up for their children to come home at night. Most of the kids have fake ID’s and go to night clubs (which don’t even open until 11). Their age is clear, but they just slip $20 to the doorman, who lets them in.
Father Knows Best
In the past couple of years, I’ve read a number of articles where generations following the baby boomers are now criticizing the work ethic of baby-boomers (born 1946-1960) and wondering where this work ethic came from. It’s very clear to me now. It came directly from TELEVISION (as well as from our parents, and from society in general).
Shows during the 1950s and 1960s (and even into the 1970s) showed children working hard, being kind, taking responsibility, and most importantly, GETTING RESPECT FROM OTHERS FOR DOING SO. Some of these shows were Father Knows Best, Leave It to Beaver, The Rifleman, The Waltons, andLittle House on the Prairie. In contrast, teenagers who behave this way today don’t get any respect from others. Instead, they get “USED BY OTHERS” (in the words of a teenager I tutor). Today, it’s showing-off and acting in accordance with the list above that gets a teenager respect from other teenagers.
Among students who bring their lunches to school, there is nothing worse than opening up your lunch only to find it stolen. This is a big problem in elementary schools where students don’t have lockers and are required to leave their lunch in a commonly-accessible place . I came across this humorous picture, but thought it would provide a great solution for kids having this problem regularly. It could be done with a permanent magic marker on the outside of the bag. It would also help deter lunch bullies.
As a teacher (or even homeschooler), have you ever considered how adding filmmaking capabilites could enhance your teaching abilities with students?
The only materials you need to do so are a computer with high-speed internet connection, and a simple point-and-shoot digital camera with video capabilities (although higher levels of video cameras or those with more manual controls are always a plus).
Filmmaker Luke Holzmann now offers a free, online, 36-week course to all who are interested. A brief description of the course and simple materials needed (which most of us already have) can be found HERE.
Filmmaker Luke Holzmann
Many teachers, students, and adults are interested in filmmaking, but most don’t have a clue where to start if they are not actually in school especially for this purpose. Check out this exciting course, either to enhance your career skills, or as an enjoyable hobby.
A well-behaved middle-school student I tutor expressed her frustration to me with some of her formerly well-behaved classmates who now talk back to teachers and act up in the classroom.
When my student asked these friends why they now behave this way, they say it’s all about fitting in and being accepted by the “cool” group.
Anyone not accepted by this group is a target for their bullying. My student has a mature attitude and refuses to behave this way; as a consequence, she has to stand up to various forms of insults and bullying constantly.
At one point, our school debated putting in cameras to film student behavior in every corridor and classroom, and then decided not to.
It may have been both about cost, and about invasion of privacy, as well as our school being a high-level college prep school in a Middle Eastern country.
However, lack of cameras is no longer a protection for privacy for anyone, as every student is now capable of filming anything and everything and posting it anonymously and publicly on-line. As this article explains, many students are now purposely provoking a teacher to the breaking point with the advance intention of filming it and posting it on-line. This form of bullying is both demeaning to teachers, and can cost many teachers their jobs.
All teachers need to remember that now, the eyes of the world are watching every second. This applies not just to teachers, but to everyone. Teachers, however, are more vulnerable because students with evil intentions are purposely setting out to put them in a compromised situation.
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