Book Millennials Rising By Howe And Strauss example essay topic

Whether it is from school or home we all are influenced by our surroundings, as well as the people we grow up around, on how well we behave or misbehave. From the book Millennials Rising by Howe and Strauss, the authors state that teens are now choosing the right path of abstinence, no drugs, no drinking, & non violence because of their surrounding environment. In order to prove the authors points I interviewed a young lady who is part of the Millennial Generation. Pinar Akg un is a 20 year old college student and holds down a part time job. In 2001, Pinar graduated from Lindenhurst high school on Long Island, New York. Pinar is of Turkish descent and has lived in the upper-class, white neighborhood her entire life.

Pinar is now a student at Dowling College where she is studying to become a doctor and works for a youth program. Pinar is a product of all the changes that have been made for the millennial generation. Zero Tolerance is a change that has taken place in schools and in communities that help the millennials stay in line. It is an idea that states, if a child is punished harshly for a small incident it will stop the student from becoming a more deviant offender in the future. This rule is also followed in the communities, so when a child commits an offense off of school property, the offending child will be in trouble the next day at school. Zero Tolerance is causing children to behave themselves or suffer the consequence.

Pinar supports Zero Tolerance and believes that it will keep children from becoming criminals in the future. Pinar never really felt the effects of Zero Tolerance first hand since she was in the honor society, student council, french club, color guard, and a peer leader in high school. Another change the millennial generation has encountered is sex. Howe and Strauss say that teen sex has dropped tremendously for this new generation. Howe and Strauss write that abstinence is accepted more among today's teens, and that they want to wait until marriage. Howe and Strauss also write that contraceptive use is on the rise and teen pregnancy and abortion is down.

According to Howe and Strauss the only sex that is on the rise is oral sex. When Pinar was asked about sex, she was quick to state that she is a virgin who is saving herself for the man she is going to marry. Pinar believes that abstinence is more accepted among today's youth and the reason contraception use is on the rise is because of the education in schools. The education that the millennial generation is receiving not only cover the basics but also sex ed., and drug use. Substance abuse rates among the millennial generation also seem to be down according to Howe and Strauss. It is no longer cool for teens to do any type of drugs, and being straight is more acceptable.

The only area where there seems to be no change is in teen smoking. Howe and Strauss feel that the millennials are under so much pressure that smoking can calm them down and also the constant lecturing from adults makes the teens want to rebel. Pinar agrees with the authors that substance abuse is declining and when asked if she had ever tried any type of drug, Pinar responded with no, never. Pinar says the reason she never tried drugs was because of what she had learned in the classroom about what drug abuse can do to you and your family. Pinar was also asked if she had ever smoked cigarettes and she answered yes, a few times.

Pinar smoked on a few occasions in order to impress her friends, also she wanted to try them out just to see what they were like even though she knew of the harm and its effects. Crime and school violence rates are also going down due to the millennial generation. Murder rates and violence have dropped among millennials as well as gang activity. Arrest rates have gone up but that only means that there is more police activity going on. Kids are feeling much safer in school these days due t security reasons as well as other rules such as Zero Tolerance. Pinar says that she sees a drop in crime rate and that there is no gang activity in her area.

She also felt safe in school and the only thing she had to worry about was a fist fight or a locker search. As stated before Pinar was brought up in an upper-class, white neighborhood and comes from a family where she doesn't have to work if she doesn't want to. Pinar never had to worry about gang activity, crime, or any violence in her school. Pinar never felt the consequences of Zero Tolerance since she was a "model " student.

Where Pinar grew up there wasn't an outbreak of teen pregnancy or pushers on every corner putting drugs in her face as there are in her surrounding neighborhoods like Amityville or Wyandanch. So it is hard to take her opinions and answers seriously when Pinar has never dealt with these issues first hand, which also doubts what Howe and Strauss write in their book. It also makes a person wonder what kids they interviewed and where they are from.