Betsy Brown

Betsy Brown was a great young adult novel. I really enjoyed the spin it took on the integration of education in America. I have never read anything taking an adolescents perspective on the situation. It definitely kept my interest. I felt bad for Betsy when her friends’ parents wouldn’t let her play in the house, and when they called her vulgar names. I can not imagine what that must feel like, especially from adults. The fear I felt when reading the night before school part, was overwhelming. The things she thought would happen to her and her family members were horrible to think of. Then she faced her fears and eventually made friends in her school. Yet her cousin did not have the same welcoming in his school. In my opinion, young children can be accepting of differences while older children have a harder time excepting change. Her poor cousin was jumped and beaten very badly for now reason other then that he was African American. At least in this situation, the children had family and friends to turn too. The adults in the Brown family were very supportive and helped them stay strong. Not every child had those luxuries. Reading about the integration of education from this perspective was very interesting, I truly felt for every child in the Brown family.

From The Inside Looking Out

Kerstin is a young girl around age 13, who lives with her mother in an upper-class neighborhood. Her parents have been divorced for the last three years and she hasn’t spoken to her father since he left. It was the first day of school and she was very nervous. When she approached the bus stop, there was a very attractive young man sitting there in a varsity jersey. She knew immediately he was too old to be interested in her. When the bus came he walked right up to her seat and said “Hey I’m Kyle, may I sit down?” From that moment on they were inseparable, and fell completely in love.
Kyle was a captain of the varsity football and wrestling team, he was a straight A student and three years older than Kerstin. She couldn’t believe he was head over heels for her. She was also a straight A student, cheerleader and extremely active in her school and community. His family was immediately crazy about her and once her family saw past the age difference, they loved him. They lived their own personal fairytale for two years.
Kerstin began to feel like she lost herself, like she had only become what Kyle wanted her too. She lost her roots, who she truly was. Kerstin was raised on a farm a country girl, who rode horses and loved to go mudding. Now she was a preppy cheerleader partying all the time. Kerstin had a hard time telling anyone how she felt, she felt guilty for feeling the way she did. Everyone she knew would kill for her life, yet she wasn’t happy.
Kyle was now a senior and about to go away to college. Kerstin saw this as the perfect opportunity to talk to Kyle about how she was feeling. This was her chance to be herself, be happy and go back to her roots. Matt was hurt at first and tried to convince her to stay with him but eventually moved on. So did Kerstin and now lives with the next boys he dated, Ken. They are both happier and still best friends to this day…

Part Time Indian

I really enjoyed reading this novel. It reminded me that miracles happen everyday in small ways. Junior had a rough upbringing and overcame many obstacles to become the successful man he is today. Life throws everyone lemons and you must learn to make lemonade. Junior did that he decided he wanted to be more than an alcoholic Indian stuck on the reservation for the rest of his life. Junior survives a horrifying disease and works hard to take care of his family as well as himself. He is bullied a lot on the reservation and views life their as a dead end. He decided he wants to go to a better school off the reservation in order to make more of himself then people expect. He became popular instantly and everyone loved him for being so different. He falls for the prettiest girl in school; they experience high school and go to prom together. Junior worked hard to become a decent basketball player and found glory in beating the reservation’s team in the big game at the end. He was a very bright student and enjoyed learning new things as well as art. He drew a lot, to release feelings or display things in another light. It is interesting to see all the minor miracles that happen in one young mans life when he wasn’t even scientifically supposed to be alive. It simply restores my faith in the good lord above and his ways, everything happens for a reason. Junior has proven that.

Parental Influence

Thesis:
American children face many pressures through out their adolescents. Parental influence is becoming increasingly important to a child’s development and abilities later on in life. Parents today do not realize how much their own actions effect their child’s future.

Parenting Styles
Ref: The Developing Child

• Permissive
o High in nurturance
o Low in demands, control and communication

• Authoritarian
o High control and demands
o Low in nurturance and communication

• Authoritative
o High in control, demands, nurturance and communication

• Neglecting
o Low in control, demands, nurturance and communication

Effects of parenting styles on adolescents
Ref: The Developing Child & Educational Psychology

• Permissive
o Less likely to do well in school
o Likely to be aggressive
o Immature
o Less responsible
o Less independent

• Authoritarian
o Less likely to do well in school
o Poor social skills
o Low self esteem
o High levels of aggression
o “Out of control”

• Authoritative
o Highest Positive Outcomes
o High self esteem
o Does well in school
o Great social skills
o Independent
o Willing to comply with parental requests
o Self confident
o Achievement orientated

• Neglecting
o Highest Negative Outcome
o Very aggressive
o Impulsive
o Anti social
o Not likely to do well in school or relationships
o Increased sexual activity

Effects of family structure on adolescents
Ref: The Developing Child & Educational Psychology

• Divorce

o Step parent(s)
 Depression
 Aggression
 More likely to abuse alcohol and drugs
 Unstable in relationships

o Single parent
 Aggression
 More likely to abuse alcohol and drugs
 Unstable in relationships
 Poverty becomes common

o Gay/ Lesbian parent(s)
 Studies prove no difference in development of heterosexual parents

• Teen Parents
o Fights with peers
o Truancy
o Early sexual activity

• Religion
o Some religions have cause parents to adhere to stricter guidelines for raising your children. This may cause rebellion and other delinquencies.

• Economic Status
o The lower the status the higher the misbehavior and vise versa.

Connections to the novels
Ref: Novels used in class

• Charlotte Temple
o Married & Alive

o Authoritarian Parenting style
 Defiance
 Independence
 Longing for attention

o Economic Status
 Upper class
 Highly respected
 Rich
 Expectations

• Huck Finn

o Dad & Single

o Neglecting Parent
 Uses Huck
 Abusive
 Alcoholic
 Selfish

o Economic Status
 Low Class
 Poor
 Stole
 No permanent residence

Connections to my own adolescents

• Theresa (Mother)
o Neglecting Background
o Authoritative Parent
o Needed better for me

 Basic Needs
• Were provided primarily by my mom

 Class, Money
• Upper middle class

 Grades, Schooling
• Best schools, Great grades were expected

 Opportunities & Experiences
• Tried everything I wanted at least once

o Pageants & Modeling
o Soft Ball & Cheerleading
o Gymnastics
o Ice skating & Roller skating
o Dance & Voice
o Piano
o Various clubs and organizations
 BPA
 Key Club
 Choir
 SGA
 DECA
 Focus

• Family

• Religion(Christianity)

• Academics

• Life Lessons

• Everything and Anything

• Dave (step father)
o Authoritative Background
o Authoritative Parent
o Wanted same for me

 Experiences
• Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Four wheeling

 Availability
• Easy to talk to about anything
• Always there for me
• Filled my fathers shoes, while he was away

 Focus
• Family
• Religion (Catholicism)
• Life Lessons

• Brad (Father)
o Permissive Background
o Authoritarian Parent
o Means well and wants the best for me

 Experiences
• Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Four wheeling
• Construction, Farming, Wilderness Survival

 Availability
• Wasn’t there during adolescents (improving now)

 Focus
• Life Lessons
• Religion (Christianity)

• Tracy (step mother)
o Authoritarian Background
o Permissive Parent
o Great step mother

 Experiences
• Sewing, Crafts, Baking, Gardening

 Availability
• Easy to talk to about anything
• Always there for me

 Focus
• Family
• Religion(Christianity)
• Life Lessons

*Huck*

When we were first assigned to read the Adventures of Huck Finn, I was not very interested in doing it. As I read the story I found myself wondering what happens next as well as where Huck would end up. I was constantly playing out alternate endings and searching for clues as to what came next. Twain was very good at keeping me guessing. In the end I enjoyed reading the book, but wish there would have been more of an ending. Although, I understand that with out an open ending the reader wouldn’t be interested in a sequel.

The story itself was a wonderful reflection on America. There were so many elements of our great country portrayed in the novel. The following are just a few examples…

Independence
• Huck fought to be on his own in the wilderness, taking care of himself
• Tom always had to be the leader, the independent one
Freedom
• Jim fought to be free all through out the story
• Huck and Tom dreamt of being free from societal demands and pressure
Class System
• The class system was displayed all through out the story
o Pap being an alcoholic who abused his kid and stole
o Tom’s family was well off because they all worked hard and chipped in
o The doctor and lawyer using their connections to catch the duke and king
o Huck doesn’t want to be educated or civilized because it goes against the way he was raised, which ultimately keeps him down in class rank
Slavery
• Jim and other slaves were mistreated on several occasions through out the story
• The slaves in this story were bought and sold in several chapters
• Jim has to hide almost everyday or he will be captured and possibly killed
o He cant go into any of the cities and experience what Huck is
• The simple fact that Jim was once a slave causes a lot of trouble
Religion
• Tom and Huck reject following any sort of religion
• Jim seems to follow a Christian religion of some sort on several occasions he mentions praise the lord or oh help me Jesus
• The civilized families in the novel all seemed to follow some sort of religion and lived their lives by it
• The widow and her sister try to force religion on Huck in the beginning and Aunt Polly tries in the end

The entire story line focuses on the optimism that comes along with chasing the American dream. Huck is looking towards his future while Jim is planning his through out their whole adventure. Jim wants to be a free man, get a job and pay for his family’s freedom. Huck wants to be a free man so to speak as well he wants to live free of the rules and religion that bound civilized society. I learned a lot reading this novel.

21st Century Charlotte

Charlotte would be a young girl around age sixteen attending an all girls private school. One of her female instructors falls in love with a General in the Army and wants to run away with him. She can’t however unless she brings along someone for the officers son to be with. She chooses Charlotte and runs away from the school with her to meet up with the Army men on base in New York City. The ladies are immediately forced into hiding because they aren’t allowed to be living on base with the men unmarried. The officer Joe, whom Mrs. Pillar fell in love with, wants to marry him right away. They are married in the states and he tells her they are leaving for France the day after the wedding.
Once in France Charlotte is supposed to marry the officers’ son, Bill. Bill however has other plans when he meets the lovely young Leah at a party one night in Paris. Bill marries Charlotte to make his father happy and they have four children. Leah however, is Bills mistress and they have three children together as well. When Charlotte finds out about the other children she commits suicide. Bill forces Leah to care for all seven children as her own, while he is away at battle. Leah eventually gives up and commits suicide as well. Bill is left to raise seven children alone.

Charlotte Temple

This was an extremely sad story but unfortunately I don’t think it was uncommon for a young girl of this time to experience these things. I can not imagine leaving my family like that. My dream is to move south and teach down around Virginia. I know it would be very hard to leave my family and friends up here though. I could never just up and move to another country.
This story made me think of all the young girls in “love”. The game of love has been the same way forever. If you look at history ancient kings and queens committed adultery and were married way to young. They faced the same love triangles that today’s young people do. He loves her, she loves his best friend and his best friend loves her best friend. I have to wonder why no one has proposed a way to stop these things from happening.
My family and I believe falling in and out of young “love” is necessary to learn lessons and experience life. You have to have your heart broken a few times before you learn what you want. You have to realize who you are before you can know what kind of person you want to spend the rest of your life with. Charlotte didn’t find out who she really was until it was to late :(

Final Essay Subject

I am not sure what the main focus of my final essay is going to be but I would like to focus on cliques, clichés and stereotypes. It is something I have always struggled to understand. Who decided that you could label someone by the clothes they wear or the music they listen to?? They were sadly mistaken. Adolescents are also judged by the stereotypes that go along with their labels. This is a subject that truly hits home for me.

My high school began in the eighth grade. My first day I met a sophomore who played varsity football and wrestled, a week later we were dating. He was my whole world as you could imagine, he was an eighth grade girls dream. Since Matt was older I became friends with all the upper classman, the football team, the cheerleaders, the wrestlers and wrestlerettes. I immediately became a part of the “popular kids”. With out even knowing I was dragged “heart” first into their world. I became a “preppy cheerleader”. Immediately people assumed I was from a wealthy background and wasn’t very smart, unless it came to shopping. I cared a lot about Matt and my new friends so I did my best to uphold my title as “Hayes Girl”. That was my nickname and what half my clothes said on the back. Matt graduated and was in college when we finally broke up.

Shortly after that people would say things to me like… “I never knew you could ride a horse.” “What do you know about tractors?” “I always thought you were stuck up.” These comments and many others like them really frustrated me. Although I was a “preppy cheerleader” I still grew up on a farm and loved to ride horses, four wheeling and bonfires. My best friends had been my best friends since elementary school they had never changed. We were all in different “cliques” and our still inseparable. People I went to school with my whole life never knew these things about me because they never took the time to see past my label. I wonder if I am guilty of never looking past there’s either????

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager


Ch. 4 Family Values
(Pg. 58-61)


I found the section on family values extremely interesting. Before reading this section I knew that it was common for families to live all together in colonial America and that children were expected to help out from a young age. After reading this section I better understood why the adolescent roles were extremely important economically. Often the teens worked a more physically demanding job and did so for many hours a week. Therefore they were paid more than there parents on most occasions. The parents generally could not perform the same tasks a young adult can. I found it particularly interesting because I can not imagine bringing in more money than my parents, especially in adolescents.


Today’s teens commonly work part time jobs and earn significantly less then their parents. The government has mandated child labor laws for two main reasons in my opinion. First and foremost to protect young children from unfair working environments and abuse, secondly, to keep young adults in school. Higher Education has become of utmost importance.


Spending habits have also made a drastic change since colonial times. In colonial days, teen’s earnings went towards food, housing and survival. Today teens spend their money on clothes, tanning and other material objects, not always necessary to survival. It was interesting to think about how earnings and spending habits have significantly changed in my own life and compare it to how they have changed in general.