Youth problems
проект по английскому языку (9 класс) по теме

YOUTH  PROBLEMS

Ryzhova N. V

Orerhovo-Zuevo

CONTENTS:

1)        introduction.

2)        Motivation.

3)        Stages of life.

4)        Rearing children.

5)        Problems of teenagers.

6)        What makes children leave home?

7)        Youth movement in Great Britain.

8)        Youth clubs and centres.

9)        Free time.

10)        Hobbies in the UK.

11)        Fashion in Great Britain.

12)        People and trends.

13)        A raga youth in London.

14)        A rave at the Hacienda, Manchester.

15)        The expression of individuality.

16)        Are you of age?

17)        Spare time

18)        Conclusion.

Introduction.

Youth culture... is a particular relationship on the part of young people

with the whole world of fashion, image, style, music and dance.

Who do we respect?

Most young people in Britain follow some kind of youth

culture - a way for them to express their individuality.

Britain's youth cultures are constantly changing, but it isn't

only the teenagers themselves, who decide what the new

culture will be. Politics, economics and technology have all

affected teenager's lifestyle. Since the Second World War,

Britain's youth cultures have been more and more influenced

by the power of the music and fashion industries, which

promote and recycles youth cultures whenever they can.

There are some 7.5 million young people in Britain

between the ages of 10 and 19; a figure estimate to grow to

nearly eight million by 2004. These young people will

represent Britain in the 21st century. The investment Britain

makes in developing their talents, confidence and abilities is

one of the inestimable value to the country as whole.

Almost every aspect of government domestic policy,

including education, housing, health, social security, the

judiciary, law and order, environmental planning and national

heritage, affects the well - being of young people and shapes

their future, as it shapes Britain's own. Equally, foreign and

defence policies in Europe, the commonwealth and overseas

form part of the total investment Britain makes in fostering

its young.

Education and training are among the Government's most visible responsibilities for young people. Britain is a relatively wealthy, prosperous country within the Europe Union and in the world at large. It has a stable political environment based on well - tried democratic principles and has a growing economy.

Underlying Britain's education policy is the principle, that every young person should have the opportunity to benefit from a sound basic education until the age of at least 16; an education, that equips each individual to face the challenges of the future. After 16, young people are encouraged to stay at school or college to achieve more advanced educational qualification; or they are offered the chance to take part in a broad range of government - supported training programmes leading to the achievement of specific vocational skills. In this way, they are in some part prepared for adult life.

And of course, they face many problems such as learning: how to live and behave in a multiracial society; how to respect and support each other; how to make the most of opportunities; how to gain a sense of belonging; how to make a contribution; how to appreciate both spiritual and material qualities in life.

These "life skill" and moral factors fall to parents, friends, peers, and the very fact of life within the varied rural and city communities of England, Wales, Scotland and northern Ireland, that give Britain its diverse culture. Within this "community at large" - at local, regional and national level - hundreds of voluntary youth groups and organizations play an active role in the moral and physical nurture of young people in Britain.

Some of these organizations, alongside specific programmes and initiatives,

derive from central or local government authority policies and funding. They

represent the interests of particular sectors of the population; include religious

community groups - Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist; ethic minority

groups; organizations providing for particular sporting and outdoor activities or

hobbies; and groups focusin an activities for people with disabilities.

Motivation.

Everyone says that youth is probably the best time of your

life, that being young means romance, love, new discoveries and

so on. But it is also the most difficult time, because you have to

make some very important decisions which will have influence on

all your future life.

Our time isn't the easiest one, even for adults, but it is

very difficult for teenagers who are to find their own place in

society. It is necessary not only to fit in society, but also to be

sure about your position in five, in ten or twenty years.

At our English classes we discussed the life

of young people in our country and it seemed interesting for

me to study their problem, to know how young people of my

age live in Great Britain.

Stages of life.

There are five stages in everybody's life. Every

stage has advantages and disadvantages.

The first one is when you are a baby. It is a period

of life which we don't remember. It is, however, very

interesting for our parents, because they start to be

with their new - born child and observe his fast

growing.

In this stage a baby should be loved and feel safe.

The second stage is childhood. This stage lasts

From two to thirteen. A baby starts to be a child, who

can talk, understand and learn how to live in a society.

He or she still plays with toys or play games with other

children, but also starts to have some duties. A child

starts to go to school and learn. It is the most interesting

time for children.

The next stage is to be a teenager. Then you are at

the age from thirteen to eighteen. It is a time, when a

child starts to be a responsible person.

It is a most difficult period.

The fourth stage in life is when you grow up

to be an adult person. It lasts more or less from to

forty. People have many duties then, they must be

responsible, earn money, they have their families

and jobs. They live very intensively. They usually

have many problems, but also a lot of satisfaction and

joy. The last stage of life is old age. People usually get their pensions

at that age they don't work professionally, if they are not active any more,

they get old very fast. They have serious problems with health in that stage.

Every stage is quite different. Some of them are more interesting

and nicer, and some of them less. But every stage of life has its bright

sides and sad moments. A lot depends on us but it is certainly worth living.

Rearing children.

Nowadays parents feel lost as they meet many different ways of rearing

children. Grandparents focus on severe discipline and spanking in if necessary.

But modern psychological books and guides suggest explanation, persuasion

and discussion as the best methods of upbringing.

Parents usually follow these modern pieces of advice and therefore become

more and more permissive. They are afraid they might inflict a traumatic

experience by unjust punishment, push the children into complexes by

criticizing their wrong behaviors, make them unhappy by refusing to buy the

thing the child is dreaming about. The problem is that the three -year old

wants to have a toy, the ten - year old wants a bike, and the eighteen year old

demands a car. Their expectations and demands

grow and the parents are put in a difficult position if they cannot satisfy those

needs.

From early childhood the children are in charge and the parents lives are

regulated according to their demands and wishes. The children need love, but

real love and not permissiveness with no borders.

If they are not shown moral limitations and positive

values, they fall into trouble quickly and soon

start smoking, drug - taking and legal offences etc.

They usually blame the parents for wrong bringing up

and thus the parents feel guilty, as they don't know

where and when they made a mistake. They no longer

want to listen to "wise" psychologists and start to rear

children according to their instinct. If it's not too late,

the situation changes. The children who had a surfeit of

happiness in their childhood cannot have vigorous

views and react positively; later on they follow the parent's pattern and

cannot bring up their children in a proper way.

Problems of teenagers.

It is said, that the most beautiful period in our life is when we are

teenagers.

It seems that teenagers have no problems, as they don' t have to work,

care about their families or have any duties. But it is not true, they have many

problems in fact. The first problem is school. Young people

have to learn a lot; both in Great Britain and Russia,

teachers sometimes don't understand that you cannot only

learn, and you should also have some time for fun and

entertainment. School is very important for young people,

but it is not possible to learn all the time, especially

if every teacher considers his subject as the most important

one.

The second problem of teenagers is their parents; they don't understand the problem of young people. They usually don't trust them, they don't remember what they did, when they were young. They give advice too often and they don't remember that making mistakes, is the best way of learning life.

Teenagers always try very hard to be accepted by their friends. It is really very important for them, so they wear strange things, which seem terrible for their parents, but which are very fashionable among young people. Parents and teachers often criticize the clothes and jewelry of teenagers, because they don't remember, that they were the same many years ago. Teenagers always have some problems, but after some years they don't remember these problems very well and that seems very happy to them.

Some specialists explain, that the changes of our society, the system of our life force young people to choose their own lifestyle. On the one hand our society agrees that fifteen or seventeen - year - old people, are old enough to be responsible for what they do and give them quite a lot of freedom and rights. On the other hand, most adults think that, teenagers are too young to be taken seriously. This misunderstanding produces many problems. Actually, a lot of teenagers say that, their parents let them do anything they want and are quite indifferent to their problems. Many teenagers in Great Britain get upset or depressed, when they cannot solve their problems. As a result, it makes them believe that, there is only one way out - to stop living and commit suicide.

No doubt, the teens' problems will increase, and young people should feel they are cared for.

What makes children leave home?

About 20% of British teens' leave home after age of sixteen. Some of them are students. They get help from the government (grants) or their parents to study away from home, but they go back home during their holidays, so they haven't really left.

Most of the 20% leave home, Because they want to get work and experience of the world. However, accommodation is a big problem. Sometimes young people share flats, but most young people have to live in bed sitters have washing and cocking facilities. That are some rooms you sleep and live in. Some bedsitters.

Sometimes, young people live in empty houses. This is called squatting. There are also hostels for the homeless. The main problems are loneliness, getting a job and being able to do the washing and cooking. In Britain, however, it's naturally for children to leave home. In fact, only 9% of people aged and over 65 live with their children and many older parents who cannot look after themselves have to live in old people's homes.

Youth movement in GREAT BRITAIN.

Youth and youth movement over decades have become important factors in the life of the country. Numerous youth organizations have been formed since the second world war uniting young people from all classes and sections of

the population. Youth movement is not free of some problems, which result from a number of factors, depending on the grounds, on which the organization was formed.

Youth organization Greenpeace deals with most urgent ecological problems of today's world. It protests against nuclear weapon tests, sea and soil pollution, etc. Some young people work in their church organizations: help elderly people or work in hospitals. There are even some groups, where young people help released prisoners to start their life anew.

Sport clubs are very popular with the youth in the UK. They unite people, who are interested in baseball, football, basketball, golf etc. they exist clubs of different interests. British teens' can attend any club: from theatre clubs to bird - watching. Bird - watching clubs are very popular, especially in Great Britain

Youth clubs and centres.

The local youth club is the most common type of Youth organizations. Youth clubs can include branches all over the country of they may be entirely local institutions established by a church or a community association. Most of them are voluntary and many are provided by local authorities.

Another type of organization is the youth centre, normally located at or near a school. Activities include sports, music, drama and crafts. Many youth clubs are open during the day as well as during the evening and provide counseling and careers advice together with traditional leisure facilities. Day centres, sometimes known as wdropin" centres are typically located in the central areas, where social problems are worst in evidence and where young people are available.

Religious organizations and religious groups as well as many churches run a lot of centres for young people. They pay attention not only to the study of religious views, but involve youth into such activities as outings, music festivals and amateur theatre.

There are about 3000 clubs throughout Britain, which are united into the National Association of boys' Clubs. They encourage their members (of mixed age and sex) to participate in theatre, poetry, photography and other creative activities, as well as sports and outdoor activities.

Young people are also active in uniformed organizations such as: the Guides and Scouts Associations and in other local clubs such as: the Young Farmers clubs. Many of these organizations are directly involved in community Activities such as programs to help in the protection of the local environment.

Free time.

Psychologists say, that

theoretically all the teens can be

divided into two groups: formal and

informal. Teens from formal groups

generally spend their leisure time

doing sports, shopping;

sightseeing, theater - going or

watching TV.

It's a truth universally

acknowledge, that sport helps

people to keep fit and beat stress

and negative emotions. For many

young people sport

is no longer run around a

basketball court twice a week or a

game of

tennis twice a week on a warm

day.

It is a serious and expensive

business involving hours of daily

training. For some kinds whose

training starts at a very early age,

it's reflected in the increasing

number of world champions in the

teens.

Art lovers attend exhibitions and

enjoy world famous paintings, rare

sculptures, and the remains of

L        ancient civilizations. They are

ready to listen to most boring

840 minutes        lectures about Egyptian pyramids

for hours on end. As a result their

brain is armed with an

V        unbelievable store of facts and

figures from literature, history and

natural science, history and geography. Teenagers usually speak very highly of

their erudition and knowledge.

Hobbies in the UK.

Hobbies is a great British tradition. A hobby is a special interest or activity

that you do in your time off. A "hobby" is usually something that a person

does alone. But British families sometimes like to do things together too. Some

people have animals as hobbies. They keep rabbits or go

fishing.

They train dogs to do tricks or keep pigeons to race and

carry messages. Some are crazy about plants.

Other are mad about their car or their motorbike. They

spend their Saturdays and Sundays washing them and

painting them. But children and teenagers don't only spend

their free time having fun. They are great collectors.

Millions take part - time courses in writing, painting and

music and at the weekends the museums, art galleries and

concert halls are full. Everyone in this country is very

interested in culture.

While some young people spent their money on records and clothes, others

established on "intellectual" youth culture influenced by hedonism. These

young people were known as "beatniks" and later as "hippies". Teens felt freer

to have sexual experience and to experiment with drugs. Some became

travelers and led a gypsy lifestyle. These wanderings existence became

popular again in the 1990s, when groups so - called "New Age Travelers"

opted out of conversational life to travel around Britain.

The Beatles were one the first British pop groups who

write their own music instead of copying American hits.

They played in small local music clubs and used the same

language as their fans. Youth culture began to have more

authority. The Beatles remained very popular, but many

young people preferred the more rebellious sound of

bands, like Rolling Stones. Suddenly youth culture began

fragmenting into many different movements.

Youth culture is now a lot more commercial than it

was years ago.

In the early 1980s, there was a confusing mixture of youth cultures. Some dubs only admitted people whose appearance they liked. These was no universal "look" - they had to look individual. Anything unusual was acceptable, such as Bowie in a clown's costume. Youth cultures became fragmented, and the different subcultures seemed to accept each other with relative indifference - there were rarely the battles between rival groups, as in the 1960s.

Pubs close at 11 p.m. in England and Wales, and most British nightclubs, as well being expensive, close at 2 a.m. Young people in Britain are often frustrated at the lack of places to go at night. In the late 1980s, large parties were held at a variety of locations, often in warehouses or empty buildings, where young people could dance all night. Soon the media were saying, that the parties were full of drug - takers, and police raids became common. These "raves", originally called "acid house parties", by the media, continued.

A rave at the Hacienda, Manchester.

Organizers arranged obscure meeting places to keep the party venues a secret from the police. Nevertheless, the law was changed to force the organizers of the larger parties to obtain a license, before they could hold the party.

Steve Redhead, a lecturer on popular culture, says teenagers in the 1980s got bored with being expected to wear the "uniforms" of gangs, such as: mods and punks. Instead they mixed up musical styles and developed this "rave" pop - dance culture. It seemed to remove youth culture barriers: gang rivalry is now rare. The fact, that few people drink alcohol at raves, may be the reason for the lack of violence. Eventually, the British government became concerned, that raves were dangerous, anti - social phenomenon. And the most popular drug was "ecstasy".

Are you of age?

At twelve: you can buy a pet without your parents.

At thirteen: you can get a job, but the law allows you to work only two hours a day on a school days.

At fourteen: you can enter a bar, but you can only buy soft drinks. The law forbids you to buy or drink alcohol; the law makes you fully responsible for your criminal actions; only boys can be sent to a special prison for young people; boys and girls can get their ears pierced without their parent's consent.

At fifteen: you can see a category-15 film at the cinema, and you also can buy it.

At sixteen: you can leave school, but you have right to receive full-time education until you are 19; the law permits you to work full-time, if you have left school; you can leave home without parent's consent; you can apply for your own passport; boys can join the army; you can buy cigarettes, the law allows a young person to smoke at any age, but if you are under 16 and caught by the police, they can seize by law your cigarettes; you can by beer or wine, but you are allowed to drink it only in the restaurant or pub; you can buy a liquor chocolate; you can buy a fireworks; you can sell scrap metal; you have to pay full ticket on trains and on buses and the tube in London; you can marry if your parents permit you to do it.

At seventeen: you can get a license to drive a car and ride a motorbike; girls can join the army; you can get any fire arm or ammunition.

At eighteen: you are an adult and you don't need your parent's permission for anything; you can get married, vote, borrow money from a bank and drink alcohol.

Spare time.

When they aren't at school, or doing their homework, young people in their "teens" tend to spend a lot of their time in their own neighborhoods with friends, either in the streets or parks or in each other's homes. They tend not to spend their time organizing or participating in clearly defined leisure pursuits. Surveys show that only relatively few young people regularly attend youth clubs, although there are sufficient at attendances to result in an enormous range of organizations established across Britain. Most young people are more interested in general social interactions that don't cost money. Lack of their own money in the younger age groups means that a great deal of their time is spent with friends, window - shopping in town, cycling or skateboarding.

Parents don't always give their children a set amount of pocket money each week. They have various payment regimes. Parents similarly operate widely divers schemes about what they give outright to their children and what their children have to save up for and buy for themselves. In order to earn their own supplementary money for these and other bigger projects, young people, aged 12 upwards, earn money by washing cars or windows, doing "paper rounds" (delivering the early morning newspapers before school), moving lawns.

Summary.

Today is fashionable to speak about teenager's problems. A few years ago alcohol, fights, killing and other kinds of violence were the problems for adults, not for young people. But now, as official reports admit, they are more and more associated with young people in general and teenagers in particular.

The government surveys show, that every fifth teenager who was arrested for criminal actions was younger than fourteen and couldn't be sent to prison. Almost half of teens have an experience with drugs, alcohol and sex under the age of sixteen. A lot of them never believe that they are dependent. These things are often combined with family and school problems.

They say that youth is probably the best time of one's life, that being young means romance, love, new discoveries and so on. But it's also the most difficult time, because you have to make some very important decisions which will have influence on your future life. On the one hand our society agrees that fifteen or seventeen year-old people are old enough to be responsible for what they do and give them quite a lot of freedom and rights. On the other hand, the most adults think that teenagers are too young to be taken seriously. At our English classes we discussed the life of young people in our country and seemed interesting for me (to study) to know more about the life of teens in Great Britain.

In my paper I tried to study this problem from different sides. First of all it seemed interesting for me to divide the life of any human being into several stages, and to understand the advantages and disadvantages of each of them. And to my mind youth is the most difficult period. Misunderstanding with parents who don't remember, that they were the same many years ago; with teachers who consider their subject to be the most important; with society makes teens in Great Britain to be depressed, when they have nobody to help them to solve their problems. As a result it makes them believe that there is only one way out - to stop living and commit suicide.

In my paper I tried to investigate the roots of some teen's problems, for example "What makes children leave home?" "What makes them to form different youth organization or join different movements?" Numerous youth organizations have been formed in Great Britain since the II World War, uniting people from all classes. Youth movement isn't free of problems which are the results of a number of factors depending on the grounds on which the organization was formed.

Youth Greenpeace deals with the most urgent ecological problems of today's world. Some young people work in their church organizations: help old people or work in the hospitals.

These organizations pay attention not only to the study of religious views, but involve young people into such activities as outings music festivals and amateur theatre. These ways of activities are, so to say, traditional ones.

But young people always try to express their individuality either in music or in fashion. Youth culture has changed much Punks, Hippies, Skin - Heads are the examples of such expression. They all dress in a shocking way, some

Fashion in Great Britain.

Many British people don't think about clothes very much. Men in offices

usually wear suits and ties and women wear dresses or skirts (not trousers).

Doctors, lawyers and business people wear quite formal

clothes. Jeans and open shirts are sometimes not allowed.

It is difficult to say exactly, what people wear in Britain. If

you are't sure what wear, watch what other people do and

then do the same, or ask the advise of your friend or your

host. You'll fell relaxed if you don't look too different from

everyone else.

British people just like to be comfortable. When they go

out to enjoy themselves, they can wear almost everything.

At theatres, cinemas, and concerts you can put on what you

like - from elegant suits art dresses to jeans and sweaters.

At home or on holiday most people wear informal or sporty

clothes. But when they go out in the evening, they like to

look elegant. But these days most people in Britain don't

wear very formal clothes. And sometimes it's important to

wear the right thing.

People and trends.

Youth culture has changed quite dramatically over the last 20 or 30

years.

One of the first post - war youth was the 'Teddy Boys"

or 'Teds". Large numbers of young Teds collected in

coffee houses and cinemas, and sometimes there were

fights and acts of vandalism. By 1945, the media had

begun to associate the Ted youth culture with something

rebellious and threatening. However, it seems that the

media made the situation worse; the bad image

presented by the press discouraged the young people

who were not violent, leaving the rebellious teens to become the majority. The

media have been accused of doing the same with punks, football supporters

and ravers.

After the war, black musicians were much freer to perform for white audience. The jazz and gospel music that black musicians traditionally played, was combined with other styles. The results rock'n'roll became extremely popular and white musicians copied the sound. When rock'n'roll arrived in Britain in the 1950s, it had a great effect on youth culture.

The same year records were produced on plastic and record players improved, because of new technology. Radios became smaller; music was everywhere. Combined with the new popular music, the results was a huge increase in sales.

A raga youth in London.

Drugs have played a continually significant role in youth sub - cultures from the late 50s onwards.

The expression of individuality.

Mod: these people developed their own style distinct from

others. A person has college-style hair, a neat white shirt, a

short jacket, or a short blazer jacket, a narrow trousers. The

clothes are Italian by choice. Pale face, plenty of make-up.

Scooters (light motor cycles) are the

preferred means of transportation. He or

she prefers soul music.

PUNK: a person who dressed in a

shocking way to express his or her

(identity (who somebody is). He or she

has brightly colored hair and wears        

[metal chains. The person is thought to rebel (protest)

[against the society. The music is aggressive. They reject

j(say no to) everything. They are also the most malicious enemies of

skin heads.

Щ        Skin Heads: they cut their hair shorter than others do.

The majority of them are working class, patriotic, reggae and football fanatics

and very uninterested in politics. Most wear tight trousers and heavy boots

with steel alass and are usually regarded as violent and aggressive.

Rocker: a young person who wears a leather jacket,

army boots. He is associated with something rebellious.

Goth: the members of this subculture

wear the blackest black, with a lot of silver

jewellery and have very black hair and

look as thin and pale as possible. The

members gather together to read Brain

Stoker and talk about being vampires, and

about the end of the world.

Hippie: some classify        i

these types of

people, like drugs users and rock'n'roll

fans, since their behaviors differs from H ■-        ,

social norms. They don't conform (don't I

keep) to society's standards and support a И

liberal attitude and lifestyle. They always        want to change

the world to best.        V" |

Hacker: they are the 'wizards" of the        computer

community; people        JB with a deep

understanding of        Ьоуу ^е\г

computers work, and can do things with them that seem

'’magical". They don't protest

against their parents.

Raver: These are the folks who

use computer-made,

Synthesized music, and drugs to

create massive all-night dance

parties in empty warehouses.

They like to be in a collective.

They want t try out all sort of options (to test all things

that can choose^ and are thouaht to be violent.