Ирина Эланс

Автор который поможет с любыми образовательными и учебными заданиями

American Youth: changes in contemporary life

INDIVIDUAL TASK

in English

“American Youth: changes in contemporary life”

YEAR: 1

GROUP: 3422-2

PREPARED BY: Vasjuk Olexandr Oleksandrovych

SUMMARY

My report is devoted to the study of the topic “American Youth: changes in contemporary life.” I decided to investigate this question, because for me it is very interesting and useful to know about American youth itself and their way of life; to find the differences, which took place in their lifestyle; to see what American young people are interested in, what their hobbies are, what ways of holidays they prefer, what their attitude to different aspects of life such as death, war, religion and so on are.

So, I decided to build the body of my work in the following order. Firstly, I write about changes in the American family, about the relationships between parents and their young children.

The second part is devoted to problems which the young Americans have to face; among them are race discrimination, violence at schools and many others.

Then I speak about militarism in the USA and youth’s attitude to it. Nowadays the young Americans have become more thoughtful and serious and this happened mainly on the scale of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Teenagers are aware of what’s going on in their country and are eager to take active part in political and social life.

After that I turn to religion and describe what it means to the majority of the US young people.

And finally, I end my paper with the information about summer school and summer camps. I put it in the end of my work on purpose, because on the whole it turned out to be a bit dry and boring, full of figures; so I thought it would be nice to have a short rest while seeing how American teenagers have theirs.

Taking everything in consideration, I can say that many aspects of American youth’s lives have hanged, but not everything. Such eternal problems and questions like relationships between parents and their growing children, friendship and love will stay unchanged.

VOCABULARY

multilateral – [͵mʌltıʹlæt(ə)rəl] многосторонний
violence – [ʹvaıələns] жестокость
consolation – [kɒnsəʹleıʃ(ə)n] утешение
contemporary – [kənʹtemp(ə)rı] современный
YMCA (The Young Men's Christian Association) – [] Юношеская христианская ассоциация
agonize – [ʹægənaız] агонизировать
extent – [ıkʹstent] величина, протяжённость
hassle – [ʹhæs(ə)l] 1) перебранка, ссора, склока 2) драка, стычка 3) трудность, препятствие; закавыка
ambush – [ʹæmbʋʃ] 1) засада 2) нападать из засады
homicide – [ʹhɒmısaıd] киллер; убивать
poll – [pɒl] 1) затылок 2) комолое животное, безрогое животное 3) срезать рога 4) подрезать верхушку (дерева)
peer – [pıə] всматриваться
vulnerability – [͵vʌln(ə)rəʹbılıtı] уязвимость
limb – [lım] 1) ветка, ветвь 2) сук; сучок 3) конечность
recruiter – [rıʹkru:tə] агентство по найму, вербовщик
nontransferable – [͵nɒntrænsʹfɜ:rəb(ə)l] не подлежащий передаче другому лицу
adolescent – [͵ædəʹles(ə)nt] подросток; юный, молодой
elect – [ıʹlekt] избирать
resistance – [rıʹzıstəns] стойкость, активное сопротивление
junk food – [ʹdʒʌŋkfu:d] неполноценная пища (в закусочных, автоматах и т. п.); готовая кулинарная продукция (часто из пищевых суррогатов)

Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………6

The main body

Teenagers and family life……………………………………………………7

Communicating with parents…………………………………………7
Sharing of values……………………………………………………...7
Discussion of sexuality………………………………………………..8
Dating………………………………...……………………………....8
Marriage…………………………………………………………….10

Youth problems. Surveys among teenagers …………..…………………11

Violence in schools………………………………………………….12
Terrorism……………………………………………………………13
Substance abuse……………………………………………………..14
Junk food…………………………………………………………….14
Death………………………………………………………………...14
Suicide……………………………………………………………….15
The war in Iraq……………………………………………………...16

Militarization of the youth………………………………………………….16
Religion ……………………………………………………………………18
What Americans do in summer…………………………………………….19

Summer school………………………………………………………19
Summer camps………………………………………………………20

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..24

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...25

Introduction

But to tell the truth, it isn’t an easy task because the word “youth” is multilateral and combines a lot of different features in it. Various things account for this: ethnic background, immigration date of their forebears, social background, religion, and other factors. Even the amplitude of the age of the people whom we cal “youth” is very big. We can refer a boy of 13 to the term “youth” as well as a young man of 23. This great diversity makes the meaning of the word “youth” so many-sided.

So, I decided to build the body of my work in the following order. Firstly, I write about changes in the American family, about the relationships between parents and their young children.

The second part is devoted to problems which the young Americans have to face; among them are race discrimination, violence at schools and many others.

Then I speak about militarism in the USA and youth’s attitude to it.

After that I turn to religion and describe what it means to the majority of the US young people.

1. Teenagers and family life

Family is the basic concept in everybody’s life and for youth is not an exception. Moreover, for the young it is even more significant, as only in the family a man can find love, support and consolation, which are so important for a growing personality.

1.1. Communicating with Parents

Unfortunately, nowadays family life faces a lot of problems. For example, when the twentieth century began all the different varieties of American families shared one characteristic: the wife didn’t work outside the home. Whereas, today work for married woman is accepted and so commonplace. Thus women have to be torn in two and the first who suffer from this change are their children, especially teenagers, as they are living through one of the toughest periods of their life and they need support from their parents, who are, unfortunately, too busy or too tired to pay them needed attention.

Communication between parents and teens is an important influence on teens' emotional maturity and success in life. But according to some investigations, 57% of teens reported that they wanted to discuss topics such as alcohol and drug use and sex with their friends, compared with 15% who wanted to discuss these topics with parents, 15% with an older sibling, 7% with other adults, and 1% with clergy. It was found that less than half of teens were completely honest with their parents, particularly about problems they struggled with and their feelings about dating relationships.

Parents' and teens' perceptions of their communication differs: while almost all parents believe they communicated with their teens about alcohol use, drug use, and sex, only 76% of teens reported that these discussions occurred. And teens did not always let parents know about their most pressing worries.

1.2. Sharing of values

A survey conducted in April 1999 for the YMCA illustrated differences between parents' and teens' perceptions of the role parents play in shaping their children's values. The survey found that while 94% of parents believed that their children learned values from them, 20% of teens said that they did not learn their values from their parents. A 2000 survey by the YMCA also showed that parents underestimated the influence of friends on their children's values. About 11% of parents believed that friends played an important role in forming the values of their children, but 26% of teens said their friends were a critical influence on their value systems. In addition, more parents than teens believed that parents and teens shared the same basic values.

1.3. Discussion of sexuality

A study published in the Journal for Adolescent Health found that high rates of parental supervision of adolescents (such as knowing where they were after school and at night, knowing the parents of their adolescents' friends, and monitoring television and Internet use) was correlated with lower sexual risk-taking.¹ While the researchers found no relationship between the quantity of general communication between parents and adolescents and adolescent sexual risk-taking, they suggested that talking specifically about sexual topics might have an effect on the sexual behavior of teens as well. Peter S. Karofsky, Lan Zeng, and Michael R. Kosorok reported in "Relationship between Adolescent-Parental Communication and Initiation of First Intercourse by Adolescent" (Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001) that teens who believed they had good communication with their parents were less likely than other teens to engage in sexual intercourse.²

1.4. Dating

One of the most pleasant and at the same time stressful periods for almost every teenager is dating. Although there is no specific age when American boys and girls are supposed to begin dating, some start as early as twelve years old. In the American context dating is a rather complex form of social interaction. For some children, dating seems to take place without any special stress, but for those who are shy, the whole process can be an agonizing one. Often times, friends will help to set up meetings between a boy and a girl who seem to like each other but who cannot or will not take the initiative themselves. There are also so-called “blind dates” that friends arrange for people who do not even know each other.

And one of the biggest questions associated with it is when to start doing what. That is, when is it appropriate to, for example, kiss the other person? On the first date, the second date, or when? The same may be said of sexual relations. Another question is who is going to take the initiative. In the past it was assumed that the boy would start by inviting the girl to “go out with him”. Over the years, that custom has broken down to some extent, and it’s not unheard of for the girl to be the one who makes the first phone call.

An important issue related to dating is that of “going steady”. When a couple decides that they will not date other people but only each other, they are “going steady”. Sometimes, one of the partners would like to go steady, but the other would still like to be free to see date other people. Some people prefer to go out socially in groups, where there are no special attachments. This is a good way of taking the pressure off for those who are not interested in or not ready to dating as such. Later on, there are various stages of serious commitment. Getting engaged is the last step before getting married. Americans typically exchange rings which they wear on the fourth finger of their left hands when they become engaged.

Dating often becomes part of the struggle between parents and children for control over the lives of teenagers. Parents usually take the conservative side on issues such as use of the car and sexual contact. Teenagers, naturally, have their own ideas on these matters and are famous for their ability to find ways to do what they want, with or without their parents’ knowledge or permission.

1.5. Marriage

Marriage in the USA is considered a matter of individual responsibility and decision. American marriages are usually based on romantic love, rather than on social class, education, money, or religion. On the one hand, marriages between blacks and whites are rare. They probably account for fewer than 1 per cent of all marriages each year.

After their marriage the young couple is free to decide where to live. Most newlyweds set up their own household immediately. Most married people practice some kind of birth control. They plan the number of children they are going to have and when their children will be born. Birth-control information and family planning are easily available.

Today, according to the US Census bureau, 59 percent of men and 47 percent of women between 18 and 24 depend on their parents despite all traditional patterns of behavior, at least for housing. This is part of a major shift in the middle class. Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. The marriage age is rising. A high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressured and emotionally battered young people to parental shelters. For some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so exorbitant that many students now attend local schools. Even after graduation young people find their wings clipped by skyrocketing housing costs.

Sharing the family home requires adjustments for all. There many be the hassles over bathrooms, telephones and privacy. Some families, however, manage the delicate balancing act.

The familiar structure in present-day America is the so called “nuclear family”. But the forgotten term “extended family” is coming back again with a different meaning. Now it means that there have appeared an increasing numbers of families that include half brothers and sisters, and stepmothers and stepfathers. There is growing number of people who have been married three or even four times.

Children of parents who marry several times are another concern. They suffer o loss of faith in relationships. Multiple marriages also aggravate sibling conflicts. So, re-marriage may create unforeseen difficulties for both parents’ and children’s lives.

2. Youth Problems

The problems American teenagers face daily reflect problems in American society: drugs, guns, violence, poverty and depression. However, there are a few problems, which are prevalent mainly among America’s youth. For example, teenage pregnancy, underage drinking (drinking alcohol under 21), gang membership and the lack of a “voice” in today’s society are among the many issues teenagers must deal with. Not all Americans have good clothing, adequate food and vitamins, and housing. So, some American children are raised in poverty. Many of these children find other means of supporting themselves or their families. Many times poor or underprivileged children are forced to sell drugs or join gangs. Gangs, violence, and drugs are issues, which boys go hand in hand. In other words, where one finds a gang, one is most likely to also find drugs, guns and violence. As a result many young girls and boys are brutally murdered in drive-by shootings, ambushes and gang wars. While these problems of poor teenagers are immeasurable and harsh, middle class and wealthy American teenagers also face many problems. Drugs, underage drinking and smoking are prevalent among teenagers. Drugs are destroying minds, family and friend relationships, and are killing America’s youth. These drugs are a problem, which must be destroyed.

Violence in schools has been an increasing problem in America in the past few years. Occasions when American students have shot and killed their classmates no longer sound unfamiliar. Guns have no place in the hands of American children. Children should not have to fear going to school, and should have to fear their classmates.

Yet another problem of American youths is vehicular homicide. Because teenagers drive at the age of 14, and because many are careless or perhaps drunk drivers, the number of deaths behind the wheel continues to grow. Teenage drivers no longer have to worry about having a parent drive them around or parking them after school, but need to worry about driving safely.

Teenage pregnancy is also a problem relevant to the topic of teenage problems. Children having children – teenage mothers and fathers – cannot provide for their babies, because they too still need to be cared for. Teenage parents do not have adequate education, and monetary means to support babies in today’s world. And while teenagers continue to have sex at earlier ages, it is also necessary to address the problem of STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). STDs such as AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) are incurable and are devastating to teenagers who are just beginning to enjoy life. In order to address these problems of youth teenagers need to discuss their problems. In today’s society it is difficult for a teenager to be taken seriously. However, in the next few years, adults must take the time to hear the problems of these young Americans so that solutions can be found to eliminate the problems.³

Surveys among teenagers

To be more exact I want to give some statistics, survey data and to examine this question in more detail.

2.1 Violence in Schools

According to the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, high school students were less fearful for their safety in 2001 than they had been in previous years. In 2003 5.4% of all students in this age group skipped school at least once in the past thirty days because they were afraid, down from 6.6% in 2001. Hispanic students were the most likely to not go to school because of safety concerns, African-American students were the next most likely, and white students were least likely to not go to school because of safety concerns. Male and female students were almost equally likely to skip school because of safety concerns (5.5% of male students and 5.3% of female students). Younger students were more likely to stay away from school because of safety concerns than were older students (6.9% of ninth graders compared with 3.8% of twelfth graders).

According to the survey, in 2003 6.1% of high school students carried a weapon (gun, knife, or club) to school on one of the thirty days preceding the survey. Males were more likely to have carried a weapon to school than females. African-American students were more likely than Hispanic students and white students to carry a weapon to school.

About one in ten high school seniors reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property one or more times during the twelve months prior to the survey. Non-Hispanic African-American high school students were more likely to have been threatened or injured than were Hispanic or non-Hispanic white students. Younger students were much more likely than older students to report having been threatened or injured with a weapon at school; more students in ninth grade were threatened or injured than students in grades ten, eleven or twelve.⁴

2.2. Terrorism

The 2003 Teen People poll found that 80% of teens surveyed believed that in their lifetime there will be another terrorist attack in the United States on the scale of the attacks of September 11, 2001. More than half of teens believed the United States government is prepared for such an attack, and 26% believed that in ten years terrorist attacks and suicide bombings will be the greatest threat to the world.

2.3. Substance Abuse

Data from Monitoring the Future, as reported by the BJS, show that starting in 1993 high school seniors' disapproval of marijuana use began to decline. More than two-thirds of students in the class of 1992 expressed disapproval of adults who tried marijuana once or twice. By 2002 only about half of high school seniors expressed disapproval of this behavior. Rates of disapproval of drinking alcohol and taking steroids also declined over the period, while disapproval of smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day remained relatively steady. In 2002 30.8% of high school seniors thought that marijuana use should be made legal, and 29.1% believed it should be considered a crime. According to the Horatio Alger Association 2004 survey, over a third of students struggled with peer pressure to drink alcohol or use illicit drugs.

2.4. Junk Food

A July 2002 report from the market research firm BuzzBack, Understanding Teen Attitudes and Behaviors around Health and Nutrition, found that a majority of teens would like to improve the way they eat, especially girls (78%, compared with 60% of boys), but fewer than half said they regularly tried to eat foods that were good for them. Sixty-four percent of teens consumed carbonated soft drinks, 64% ate whatever was available, and only 29% of teens thought about nutrition when they selected foods. Researchers found in 2002 that more than half of bag lunches brought to school by young adolescents had more than the recommended amount of fat; bag lunches averaged about twenty-one grams of sugar; only one in twenty bag lunches contained vegetables; and chips, snacks, or cookies were found in 40% of lunches.⁵

2.5. Death

At least one study found that teens' fears of death rose after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Researchers from the University of California at San Francisco found that ninth graders attending public schools in northern California felt their likelihood of dying was 15.25% before the attacks and 20.87% one month after. The teens' perception of vulnerability was higher after the attacks even in non-terrorist scenarios—for example, students believed they were more at risk of dying during an earthquake or a tornado.⁶

2.6. Suicide

In 2001 suicide was the fifth-leading cause of death for children ages five to fourteen, and the third-leading cause of death for teens fifteen to nineteen. According to the May 2000 report by the Council of Economic Advisers, for teens of all ages suicidal thoughts were higher among those who do not feel close to a parent. The report showed that younger teens who regularly ate dinner with their parents were about half as likely as other teens to think about suicide. Among teens ages twelve to fourteen, those who didn't feel close to their parents were about three times as likely to think about suicide. Teens ages seventeen to nineteen who didn't feel close to at least one parent were more than twice as likely to think about suicide.

The 2003 Youth Risk Behavior Survey questioned high school students regarding their thoughts about suicide. Almost one in six claimed that they had thought about attempting suicide in the previous twelve months. Of all students, 16.5% had made a specific plan to attempt suicide, 8.5% had attempted suicide in the previous year, and 2.9% said they suffered injuries from the attempt that required medical attention.

A New York Times/CBS News poll of American teenagers reported in January 2000 that nearly half of respondents knew of someone their age who had attempted suicide. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, authors of an article entitled "Suicide and Friendships among American Adolescents" in American Journal of Public Health (2004) reported that having had a friend who had committed suicide increased suicidal thoughts and attempts among both male and female adolescents. A feeling of social isolation was an additional risk factor for adolescent girls.

2.7. The War in Iraq

According to The State of USA Nation's Youth, 2004–2005, a survey done by the Horatio Alger Association, less than half of students surveyed believed in 2004 that the United States had been right to go to war in Iraq in March 2003. A third of the students believed the United States was wrong to go to war, while nearly a quarter had no opinion. Male students were more likely than female students to approve of the war; white students were much more likely than African-American students or Hispanic students to approve of the war. Most students also expected the United States to institute a military draft, but almost three-quarters opposed that possibility.

Militarization of the youth

Among other problems connected with youth’s life is militarization of the youth. Across the country, the U.S. military is failing to meet its recruitment goals. To address this problem, the Pentagon has been rapidly expanding its programs designed to entice young people to enlist. It is now spending $3.4 billion dollars annually, an average of $14,000 per new recruit. Using flashy marketing campaigns, television spots, and even developing its own videogames, the Army is bombarding young people with images that glorify guns and violence. Recruiters use elaborate PR strategies: they set up shop at malls, movie theaters, sporting events, and concerts, and they cruise around town in decked-out Humvees that blast music popular among teenagers.

The military presence in American nations public schools is growing at an alarming rate. Educational institutions in working-class areas are prime targets of military recruiters, who particularly stalk the corridors of vocational schools. The military considers students to be easy targets who can be manipulated into signing up by promising them career training, money for college, free travel, and adventure. Recruiters are PR experts; like drug dealers and tobacco company representatives, they market a dangerous product with side effects they don’t want their potential customers to know about.

While recruiters tell students that they can receive $70,000 for college through the Montgomery GI Bill, the average payout to veterans is only $2,151. To be eligible for educational benefits, soldiers must commit to serving three years on active duty and must also pay a nonrefundable “deposit” to the military of $100 a month for a year. Considering that only 43% of the soldiers who sign up for the program receive any money, the majority who seek financial assistance through the GI Bill actually end up paying the military $1,200 and get nothing in return. And a soldier who does get the average payment of $2,151 actually receives only $951 beyond his or her own contribution. Only 15% of all recruits graduate with a four-year degree.

The skills learned in the military are often nontransferable to civilian employment, and many people find themselves in need of retraining after leaving the armed services. Veterans in the 20-34 age bracket have a higher unemployment rate than non-veterans and those who are employed typically earn 12% to 15% less. Most people would be surprised to learn that veterans make up one-third of all homeless people and half of all homeless men. While in the military, 65% of enlistees state that they are not satisfied with their current jobs.

There is a variety of other less-than-flattering statistics about the military that recruiters fail to mention. People of color represent 1/3 of all enlisted personnel but only 1/8 of the officers. Nearly 90% of women in the military report being sexually harassed, and 1/3 report being raped. In addition to the more than 3,500 US men and women who have died in the current war in Iraq, tens of thousands have been wounded and are returning home with traumatic brain injuries, loss of limbs, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), and other serious illnesses related to exposure to the depleted uranium used in US munitions.

Recruiters are under enormous pressure to meet their quota of two recruits a month, which requires them to contact an average of 120 potential enlistees over that time. Since fewer than 10% of all recruits seek out military employment on their own, recruiters face the daunting task of finding the large majority of new military recruits. Thus it’s no surprise that a central recruiting tactic is a combination of deception and omission.⁷

Religion

Religion plays an important and positive role in the lives of many American teens, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion, a research project being conducted at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This four-year project, which used data from the 1996 Monitoring the Future Survey, began in August 2001 and continued until August 2005.

The first report based on the project (Religion and the Life Attitudes and Self-Images of American Adolescents, December 2002) found that 31% of twelfth graders surveyed attended religious services weekly and 30% said religion was important to them. Teenagers who attended worship services and rated religion as important tended to have positive self-images, to be optimistic, and to enjoy school. According to "Adolescents' Transition to First Intercourse, Religiosity, and Attitudes about Sex," strong religious views appear to help adolescents avoid some risky behaviors (Social Forces, March 2003). Researchers found that female adolescents with a strong religious faith were less likely to become sexually active than other girls.

A 2004 publication from the National Study of Youth and Religion reported that 28% of teens thought religion should exert as much influence as it currently does on American society, and a full 41% thought religion should exert more influence. Nearly 85% of respondents in the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health reported that they belonged to a religious group; most of these teenagers had a positive relationship with religious institutions.

What do young Americans do in summer

To make my report not so dark and pessimistic I would like to say some words about changes that took place in educational system of the USA, namely in the system of summer school and summer camps.

Summer School

Students in American schools generally attend classes from August or September until the following May or June. After that, most educational systems provide summer school.

Traditionally, if students had to attend school, it meant they had failed in their required schoolwork. They had to study in the summer so that they could move on to the next grade in school.

Today, summer school still can mean repeating failed schoolwork. But many students now choose to attend classes during summers. For example, public high school students in Nashville, Tennessee, can study during summer school for college entrance examinations.

Many summer-school courses around the nation are popular. For example, about half of the two-thousand-four-hundred students at a high school in Illinois usually attend summer classes. These students at Evanston Township High School take subjects including art, theatre, and computer science. If they are old enough, they can learn to drive a car.

In subjects like chemistry, students must quickly learn material normally taught during a full school year. But summer-school official Debbie Mohica says many students like to complete some of their required high school subjects this way. Then, they can elect to take other classes during the school year.

Colleges, universities and private organizations also operate summer school classes. Students at Harvard, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, can take courses including science and languages. Or, they can study something less traditional, like “Music and Politics”. This course examines how music can express political trend, protest or resistance.

Of course, there are many young people who have other ideas how to spend their summer break. But a Washington, D.C., area mother and educator notes that competition for honors in school has increased in recent years. She says, “Going to school can be valuable way for young people to spend a summer”.

Summer Camps

The American tradition of sending children to summer camp began more than one-hundred years ago. Frederick and Abigail Gunn started what was probably the first organized American camp. They operated a school for boys in the state of Connecticut. In 1861, Mister and Missus Gunn took their students on two-week trip. They walked to an area where they set up camp. The students fished, hunted and traveled by boat.

Today, summer caps may be outdoor ones similar to those of Abigail and Frederick Gunn. For example, a camp in Forest Lake, Minnesota, centers its activities on nature. Campers at the Wildlife Science Center study the structure of groups, or packs, of wolves.

Traditional American summer camps offer young people a chance to play many sports. These camps may be in the mountains. Or they may be in the woods, or at a lake. Other camps teach activities like painting or music. Or they teach computer programming or foreign languages. Children at all kinds of camps meet new friends. They learn new schools and develop independence.

Some children go to camp during the day and return home at night. These places are called day camps. Children as young as four years old attend day camps. Others stay at camp all day and all night. Most children who attend overnight camp are between ages of about six and sixteen.

Children stay at an overnight camp for between one and eight weeks. Parents can pay less than one hundred dollars a week for an overnight camp. Or they can pay more than seven hundred dollars a week.

Children from poor families might not have a chance to attend summer camp. The Fresh Air Fund is a well-known organization that gives children in New York City that chance. People around the country give money to support the Fresh Air Fund. Each summer, it serves about ten thousand poor children from the city. It sends them to stay with families in the country or to five camps in New York State.

Since 1877, the Fresh Air Fund has helped almost two million of New York City’s most needy children. These children do what they cannot do in the city. They breathe fresh air. They play on green grass. They swim in a lake. Some children begin to stay with the same family when they are very young and continue for a number of summers.

Summer camps have become very important to millions of families. Many American women now work outside the home. Working parents need a place where their children can be cared for during the summer when they are not in school.

Camps also help children develop independence for most children; overnight camp is the only time during the year they are away from their parents. Camps lets them enjoy being with many other children. Campers live together in cloth tents or in wooden cabins. They eat meals together in a large dining room.

But the first time at summer camp can sometimes be difficult. Children might not like the food. Or, they might not like to swim in a cold lake. They may not want to climb a hill on a hot day. Some new campers miss their parents very much.

Also, some camps ban the use of electronic equipment and toys. Children who play electronic games and use wireless telephones may miss them. These children might enjoy a camp that permits these devices. But many families say their children need to learn more about nature. They say their children need a holiday from technology.

The American Camping Association suggests that parents prepare children before sending them to camp. It advises parents to discuss what the camp will be like and what campers will need to know. For example, parents can show their children how to use a flashlight to find a bathroom at night.

But camps today may also be very different from those early-fresh air camps. For example, Pali Adventures summer camp in southern California offers several special interest camps in addition to more traditional ones. In one of these special camps, children from twelve to sixteen years of age study food preparation with a professional chief.

There are more than twelve-thousand camps in the United States. Some offer just one main activity. Children can play a single sport, like tennis, soccer, baseball or basketball. Young people who like the arts can learn more about music, dance, art, acting or writing.

Perhaps, the best known camp for young artists is the Interlochen Center for the Arts in the state of Michigan. Its music program is especially well known.

Camps that offer programs in science and environmental studies are popular, too. For example, the United States Space Camp in Huntsville, Alabama, welcomes adults as well as children. Whole families can live together in a place like a real space station. They take part in activities similar to those carried out during space shuttle fights.

There are also camps for older children who like wilderness adventure. Campers take long trips by bicycle or canoe. Or, they go rock climbing or ride horses. For example, since 1948, boys and girls have explored the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at Sanborn Western Camps. These are built more than 2,600 meters above sea level.

Other summer camps in America help children learn about religion; help them lose weight, or help them develop their knowledge of technology. Thousands of young people attend computer camps in the US.

Handi Kids in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, offers camp for children and young adults with physical or mental disorders. The campers enjoy water sports, arts, dance, music and other activities.

A camp in the state of Connecticut offers fun for children with cancer and serious blood diseases. It is called the Hole in Wall Gang Camp. Actor Paul Newman started the first Hole in the Wall Gang Camp in 1988. since then others have been established in the US and overseas.

Conclusion

To make a conclusion, I want to say that this work showed me a lot of peculiarities, concerning the life of contemporary American youth. I found that a lot have changed in their way of living.

For example, the traditional character of the American family has changed greatly as well as summer school has changed from boring and tedious kind of punishment for weak students into exciting and joyful way of spending summer holidays.

Also, it seems to me that nowadays the young Americans have become more thoughtful and serious and this happened mainly on the scale of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Teenagers are aware of what’s going on in their country and are eager to take active part in political and social life.

Bibliography

Angela Paulk, Peace Corps of the USA/ «Иностранные языки в школе», 2002 г., №3
Angela J. Huebner and Laurie W. Howell, "Examining the Relationship between Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking and Perceptions of Monitoring, Communication, and Parenting Styles," 2003
B. Halpern-Felsher and S. G. Millstein, "The Effects of Terrorism on Teens' Perceptions of Dying: The New World Is Riskier Than Ever," Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 30, 2002
Jerilyn Watson, English, #32,23-31 August 2004
Peter S. Karofsky, Lan Zeng, and Michael R. Kosorok ,"Relationship between Adolescent-Parental Communication and Initiation of First Intercourse by Adolescent" ,Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001Terry L. Conway et al., "What Do Middle School Children Bring in Their Bag Lunches?" Preventive Medicine, vol. 24, 2002
Токарева Н.Д., Пеппард В., Америка. Какая она?; Учебник по страноведению США. – Учеб.: – М.: Высш.шк., 1998. – 334 с.

http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/187/Attitudes-Behaviors-American-Youth.html

http://www.bestcyrano.org/THOMASPAINE/?p=123
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5329a1.htm#tab
http://killsfascists.blogspot.com/2007/07/militarization-of-american-youth.html

¹ Angela J. Huebner and Laurie W. Howell, "Examining the Relationship between Adolescent Sexual Risk-Taking and Perceptions of Monitoring, Communication, and Parenting Styles," 2003, - p. 12

² Peter S. Karofsky, Lan Zeng, and Michael R. Kosorok ,"Relationship between Adolescent-Parental Communication and Initiation of First Intercourse by Adolescent" ,Journal of Adolescent Health, 2001, - p. 27

³ Angela Paulk, Peace Corps of the USA/ «Иностранные языки в школе», 2002 г., №3, – c. 17

⁴ "Percentage of High School Students Who Reported Violence-Related Behaviors, by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, and Grade—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 1991–2003," in "Violence-Related Behaviors among High School Students—United States, 1991–2003," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 53, no. 29, July 30, 2004. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5329a1.htm#tab

⁵ Terry L. Conway et al., "What Do Middle School Children Bring in Their Bag Lunches?" Preventive Medicine, vol. 24, 2002 – p. 35

⁶ B. Halpern-Felsher and S. G. Millstein, "The Effects of Terrorism on Teens' Perceptions of Dying: The New World Is Riskier Than Ever," Journal of Adolescent Health, vol. 30, 2002, – p. 23

⁷ http://killsfascists.blogspot.com/2007/07/militarization-of-american-youth.html

American Youth: changes in contemporary life

American Youth: changes in contemporary life

http://www.libraryindex.com/pages/187/Attitudes-Behaviors-American-Youth.html