The word Teenager created in the 1950’s when teens were able to buy more things like food, clothes and music because of an increase in spending money. Teens preferred listening to rock and roll. There was television and radio, the teens attended school dances, created trends, fads and hairstyles. Media played on the emotions of teens and peers influenced them. I was a teen growing up in that 50’s, our biggest worry going to school was the trends, fads and hairstyles, boy and girlfriends; “today’s” children have lost that innocence of just being a child, a teen!
I turned on the news this morning to see that nineteen high school teenagers had been “stabbed” by one student, all of their lives changed forever, including those who did not get hurt. When my children went to high school, we were worried about the occasional fistfight, torn shirts; I did not worry about the safety of my children.
Today, I worry about my grammar and middle school grandchildren, will someone go into their school with a gun and start killing anyone in sight for no apparent reason? The same goes for my high school grandchildren, guns, bombs and now a rampage of stabbing before the first bell of the day rings. It does not stop for me there…two of my children are “teacher’s”, I must be concerned about their safety too.
I remember high school as a fun place to learn, my children, maybe not so fun…but they were safe, enjoyed sports, sitting on their cars in the school parking lots. My grandchildren are far more advanced in technology, taking subjects in middle school that we had in high school and along with that they are also taught “survival skills while in school, hide in closets, dark rooms, teachers have codes for shooters”, these will be the memories of their childhood and teenage years, what a shame that innocence has vanished!
Pray for the children!
ajm
At Amazon.com…
ann johnson-murphree 
😦
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Sadly, this is so accurate. I often wish the innocence of yesteryear for my own children who grow up with violence that we had no clue about on TV, video games and movies.. Pornography was not a word that I even knew until my late teens and was so taboo that you would be ashamed to say the word! Now it is a click of curiosity away from our younger generations. So very, very sad. They will never have nor be able to enjoy the innocence of growing up as we are supposed to.
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Yes, yes, yes…I believe I knew about sex when I married!!! Today, any age child know everything; God is not talked about in the home, no one sits down to have at least dinner with the entire family. Not that I did it “ALL” correctly, my kids were busy with sports, etc too. But we ate together dinner each night and discussed everyone’s day. One weekend a month there was no TV, it was game weekend. It is just a different world and I know my world or my children’s world will never return. Thank you for your wonderful comment. Ann
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I am so on board with you Ann. I have raised my kids in church and their faith is anywhere from flat to hoping. Meal time is so critical and something I wish I had more time for as my kids grew… being a single mom with kids in sports, dance, etc, made it hard. When I look back, I have regretted the activities and wished that I had the dinners instead. You can never grab time back.
Thank you for sharing and nice to get to know you a little.
Bless you lots,
Easter
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Thank you, and nice to get to know you as well. No we cannot get the time back, you are young live life as you wish, be happy and the children will always thrive. As a parent I just have to let mine be what they want to be and follow their own dreams. Hugs, Ann
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High school teacher 33 years here Miami. Several fights/violence every day and then at home for these kids poverty/drug-alcohol parent./abuse. And drive-by shootings way of life here-my family survived four. Kids her know deadly violence way of life , ever on the horizon possible. Horrible for kids to grow up that way as they become hardened and lose innocence very young.
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Yes Carl my Chuck and Karen talk about how bad it is in school and that their home life is where much of it begins; my family helps both of them with many children, food and clothes, Christmas we try to do both school’s. Chuck is a Dean of Students and Special Ed teacher middle school; Chuck has taught High School too, and Karen is a Reading Specialist at a Grammar school. I hear the horror stories. But, I am proud of teachers every where, thank you for doing your job. Of course you know I love your writing. Ann
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This is the sad reality, Ann. In Italy too our chiuderemo have almost the same problems.
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Heartfelt words! Thank you for sharing them!
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Thank you so much. Ann
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On one hand I believe it has changed and in another it hasn´t and it also depends on your social status and the kids personality but that is also relative.
Media still influences kids as well as peers,that´s human nature. In the 1930´s gangster movies influenced great part of the American culture.
The school learning experience fun, maybe for the great majority but there are kids still bullied like in any other place in time. Human nature again. The violence, maybe it has escalated but there has always been violence, except now that we have better technology including guns, kid´s might be a little more at risk. But again of all the millions and millions of kids a 0,0001% end up shooting up the hole school. It´s tragic but the percentage is minimal. And social status usually plays a role, no matter what time in place you are in when it get´s to increased broken families with little resources of course the possibility of kids having a tougher life is there. But that happens in Spain too, and my guess in most other countries. About sex, don´t know I´m 31 and I remember that by the age of 13-14 it was the time when we experienced and that goes for older generations, and depending on the social status, character of the person, e.t.c. So I wouldn´t be too afraid, plus if you start thinking about all the bad out there you might as well not get out of bed.
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Thank you for your commentary/comment and statistics, this information is well known throughout the world…fear was not a factor for the post, life changes, and if you are only 31, you have only read bout the “days of innocence” not lived them. Those days were filled with many things to fear, but with the media did not give us minute by minute information, games showing people being shot, or knifed…when you were born, by the time you were in high school the schools had begun placing security on the grounds, and life as teens knew when down hill from there. a 0,0001% end up shooting up the hole school…is not acceptable.
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I completely agree that any percentage as small as it is it is not acceptable but it´s out there and to tell you the truth I don´t know how to stop it. I just know we have to deal with it.
Although when you where growing up, you had to deal with maybe another fear one much bigger which was a nuclear bomb going off in the United States. You grew up in the middle and most volatile situations with the old Soviet Union. Alarm goes off and all the kids hide under their desk, those where the newsreals then right?
I grew up in days of innocence somewhat, since I was in New York during Sept.11, 2001. Not in the city but in the State. I wasn´t from the U.S and two years latter I joined the Spanish Legion and got willingly deployed to two screwed up countries and don´t regret having been there. Not that I´d go back now,more because of health issues. They won´t accept in a gym!(That´s a bit of my strange ironic humour, but let say I´m not in the best conditions)
It´s always good to have a discussion, I like the exchange of opinions. Read ya!
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Thank you for your reply. Ann
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