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Teenagers have captured a lion's share of media coverage during the past year. It is a rare morning that headlines in the Chicago Tribune or the Daily Herald do not scream out the death toll from gang shootings and drunk driving accidents. Evidence points to the fact that the majority of gang members and drunk drivers are under the age of 21.

Graffiti-covered freeway signs, storefronts, schools, billboards, walls and private homes plague almost every neighborhood in Chicago. The perpetrators again are teenagers! It seems as if all property is public and can be used as a canvas for disrespectful taggers, artists, and gangsters.

Educators complain that high school students would rather work at low paying jobs until all hours of the night instead of using evenings to study challenging material for exams. For them, the need for instant material gain far outweighs the benefits of a far-in-the-future college education.

The teenage pregnancy rate soars each year. It seems as if little thought is given to failing parenting skills by these prospective leaders of the next generation.

The U.S. government has decided to do something about the problems teenagers cause in society. The government, supported by the majority of the American people, feel that teenagers are destroying the basic values of our great nation. To prevent this, as well as to protect teenagers from members of the public who might try to take revenge upon them, the US government has decided to evacuate teenagers and place them in internment camps outside the city limits until the age of 21. This will enable parents and grandparents to raise their younger children without the evil influence of their older teenage siblings.

• In groups of 3-4, discuss the following questions pertaining to the government's recent actions against teenagers. Only one person needs to record the group's answers, but be prepared to discuss your opinions with the whole class.

  1. How does your group feel about the charges leveled against them?

  2. What truth is there to the charges? Cite individual examples.

  3. How do the group members feel about being excluded from society because they happen to be members of a certain age group?

  4. What five personal or household items does your group members feel they would have to bring with them to the relocation center? Why were these items chosen?

  5. If most of the charges made against teenagers were true, is exclusion a good solution to the problem? Why or why not?

  6. What other solutions to these problems does your group have?

   

The Teenager as Enemy Grading Rubric

This assignment is worth 30 points.

To get a 26-30, your group response must

• clearly state your opinion in the matter with appropriate details and show support to back your case,
• show the input of all members of the group,
• be of above-average effort.

To get a 21-25, your group response must

• clearly state your opinion in the matter with adequate details and support,
• show the input of most group members,
• be of slightly better-than-average effort.

To get a 16-20, your group response must

• state your opinion in the matter with some details and support,
• show the input of a few group members, but not all,
• be of average effort.

To get a 11-15, your group response must

• state your opinion in the matter, but with little or no details and support,
• show the input of one or two group members, but not all,
• be of below average effort.

To get a 10 or lower, your group response must

• not clearly state your opinion in the matter,
• show little input by anyone in the group,
• show little to no effort.

Content Standards: 14
Process Standards: 16, 18, 19

Copyright 2018, Jon Mueller. Professor of Psychology, North Central College, Naperville, IL. Comments, questions or suggestions about this website should be sent to the author, Jon Mueller, at jfmueller@noctrl.edu.