Sabrina Van Metre

English 112B

Dr. Warner

November 28th, 2011

Today�s Youth Withstanding Peer Pressure and Establishing Independence

            Today�s youth has become more and more dependent on knowing what others are doing in their lives and less focused on what they themselves want to achieve. We see young girls asking what happened on last night�s episode of The Kardashians rather than how they worded their essay. Although this little tid-bit may seem trivial and slightly unrelated, the fact that young girls are waiting to see what the next move of the Hollywood Starlet is leads me into my point that today�s youth has been brainwashed into watching what everybody else is doing. My overlying theme for my unit of study is �withstanding peer pressure� or more specifically, �gaining independence�. My centerpiece is the novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. I think this is a great centerpiece because it is a read that will satisfy most reading levels without being too difficult or easy to grasp. It is a classic book which most people have read so I won�t go too far into detail of the story, but it stars a teen named Ponyboy who falls for a girl, Cherry, from the other side of town. Because of an impromptu fight against the Soc�s, the group of teens which Cherry belongs to, Ponyboy and his best friend Johnny have to go into hiding inevitably because they feel they would just be thrown in jail of they did otherwise. The tale is of the battle between accepting who you are and wishing you were somebody else; and the moral, obviously, is to appreciate who you are and what you�ve been given. This centerpiece connects to my theme because Ponyboy may wish he were a Soc sometimes and not a Greaser, who I personally prefer, but since there�s no choice in the matter he goes through the battle is takes to keep to his guns and defend the people he loves, in this case Johnny and his brothers, in a fight for identity. The Outsiders connects to the rest of my Young Adult sources because they are all about discovering a part of yourself and realizing that you may or may not have been exactly who you thought you were. I think that students will benefit from reading this in high school because they can get a better understanding of what is it like to see life from both sides of the track. Because the heroine, Cherry, has a large part in the story, the reader sees that not everything, including the grass, is as green on the other side as they may think. I feel that there could be some great role playing opportunities involved with the reading. As their educator, you should have students write a mini-screen play to show their feelings on the relationship between the Greasers and the Soc�s. The students can take on a character from the novel or even make up their own version of a Soc or Greaser. This will teach them the social aspect of high school and how hard it is for everybody, even the popular kids, to fit into a place where they feel they don�t belong. This activity is great because it also introduces writing screen plays in the classroom if it hasn�t been done already.

Launching the Unit

Before reading The Outsiders with your students, you may want to break the ice with some of these activities to get the students� minds in the right place.

1. Start your lesson by playing the song �Let it be� by The Beatles on the album Let It Be. This song illustrates what is it to simply let everything be in peace and not to change something that isn�t yours to change. This holds true with people more than anything, especially in relation to this lesson of independence.

� And when the brokenhearted people, Living in the world agree
There will be an answer, let it be
For though they may be parted, There is still a chance that they will see
There will be an answer, let it be.�

This excerpt specifically explains that although there are people from all over the world who are separated by beliefs, race, heritage, and even oceans and land, if we all come together in a common goal to let peace prevail, life can and will be better for all. As well as teaching a lesson, I believe that this song illustrates a great community of which everyone wants to be a part of. Plus it is hard to find a person who doesn�t like The Beatles and it is always easier to listen to something people like rather than force-feeding it down their throat.

2. In keeping with the song theme, a song that most everyone can appreciate, at least the title, is �Everybody Hurts� by R.E.M. The song, released in 1992 on the album Automatic for the People tells about how people in the world need each other to get though some of life�s battles. Although this is somewhat contradictory to my overall theme of �Independence� I feel that it is necessary to illustrate the balance between being social and relying on others to get you though and relying on others to create your image.

�When your day is long and the night, The night is yours alone
When you're sure you've had enough of this life, well hang on
Don't let yourself go, Everybody cries and everybody hurts sometimes�

You may want to do an activity involving how the students can balance having positive influences in their lives and still maintaining their own personality. A great exercise for this could be to have the students� write of a time in their life where they witnessed somebody conforming to something they didn�t truly believe. Realizing this can be difficult to pinpoint, you may suggest that they can make up a story about this, use something they saw on TV, or simply suggest a change of details, because let�s be honest, there aren�t too many high school students who are willing to share real life experiences when their social identity is on the line. Although the idea of independence is exactly what we are trying to get across to the students, it is our job as educators to be sensitive to how the students feel about the work they do, and especially when it comes to sharing it with the rest of the class.

3. Although the aforementioned exercises will work great as independent assignments, they will also be helpful to have in a journal of some sort so that the students, and you as their teacher, can track their mental thought process progress. At this point I would suggest a personal reflection by the students. Have them write at least one page, in their journal (composition book size) of how they view themselves when it comes to their individuality. Let them know that this specific entry will not be shared or read by anybody except the teacher so as to not be afraid to disclose anything they wouldn�t want the star quarterback to find out. Collect the journals and not which students seem to have confidence in their individuality and which need to work on �coming into their own�.

4. Since most high school students groan and yawn at the idea of poetry I suggest only one for this particular assignment. It is one that everybody knows and actually had its own poster in my 11th grade English classroom: �The Road Not Taken� by Robert Frost. Have the students read the following:
 Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

After reading this, have the students simply respond to what they think it means. I remember that when I was doing this in the 11th grade English classroom all those years ago, I was completely dumbfounded in what my teacher wanted to hear (in those days I was known to be a bit of a suck up), and sat there blankly instead of doing what seems so easy to me now. If the students in your classroom seem to have a similar look of confusion upon their faces, prompt them with these questions: Where do you think the narrator is going? Why do you think he wants to travel both roads? Why do you think it make a difference that he took the one less traveled? What do you think the difference was? Which road would you have taken? All of these questions will at least get the students thinking about what may lie at the end of these paths, or the fact that �how way leads on to way� (line 14).

4. Because we are in the 21st century and unfortunately there are many more movie-goers than book-readers, it may be helpful to include a couple of relevant movies throughout the instruction. Although this first one is also a novel written by Gail Carson Levine, I feel that the film version of Ella Enchanted is more popular and better recognized. This would be a great opportunity to incorporate a reader�s theater! This means much more work for you as the teacher because it is your job to write a very condensed version of the script to be read aloud by the students, unless you would like to dedicate a few class periods to the script and read it as is. Although the entire movie will be shown (preferably after the readers theater so the students can add their own interpretation of the characters and how they speak), you may want to show a clip giving an exciting sneak peak of what they are in store for. There is a great one that shows when Ella�s evil stepsister realizes there is something strange about how �obedient� Ella is.

5. Another movie I think really illustrates the idea of withstanding peer pressure and exhibiting one�s independence is the film Almost Famous, both written and directed by Cameron Crowe. The film is about a high school boy named William Miller, mature for his age, who seizes the opportunity to tour with a rock band and interview them for Rolling Stone Magazine. Have the students take notes while watching the film and after it�s finished, have them complete a journal entry responding to how William withstands all of the peer pressure ushered in his direction and how he accomplished his independence.

Extending the Unit

Along with the mediums mentioned above, there are several Young Adult novels that illustrate the theme of �withstanding peer pressure� and �independence�. Have the students get into ten groups within their class, for smaller classrooms the group could be only two people. At the end of this assignment, the class as a whole will have completed a �List of Ten� novels about independence to share with the rest of the class. This is essentially a �book talk� but with more details and they can surely ruin the ending to make their point if they please. Each group will present one novel to the class and within the presentation they should demonstrate how the characters succeeded or failed to withstand peer pressure and how they did or did not exhibit their independence. Projects should be able to vary from written reports to power point projects.

Young Adult Literature Selections

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson: This novel is about how Melinda Sordino acts upon her own instinct when she is raped at a house party. Although she is initially unable to withstand the peer pressure, rather physical pressure, she satisfies her independence by taking further precautions to protect herself and any other innocent girls at the party. Her tale is how the repercussions of doing so seemed to ruin her life, until one person finally believes her.

Whale Talk by Chris Crutcher: Although there is much more than establishing independence in this book, T.J. Jones strives to be nothing the school coaches want him to be. Because they are trying to recruit his sport ability and not himself as a person, including his mixed racial background, he boycotts the school sports until it benefits everyone but him. In a truly selfless tale about how a boy who withstands peer pressure and exhibits his independence regularly, we see how owning these qualities can really pay off in the end.

Feed by M. T. Anderson: In this novel, microchips have been imbedded into people�s brains and space travel is possible. Although this novel falls into the category of Utopias and Dystopias, the struggle by Titus to identify what is real and what is the feed is crucial in his self discovery of independence. Although the feed is mechanical, he is still attempting to withstand the pressure that it causes.

Tenderness by Robert Cormier: Here, a teen killer Eric is released from an institution upon his eighteenth birthday and faces a big decisions: to kill or not to kill. In his search for his dream woman, he finds Lori who is everything he doesn�t want. She leads him to the self-discovery of who he really is inside: a lover, not a killer. Although it doesn�t end well for either of the two, the path to independence is riveting with every word.

The Things They Carried by Tim O�Brian: Although stories of war can illustrate so much, this particular one shows us how losing friends in battle can make your world change. Trying to find a meaningful life after the war is an endless battle and the story of it is touching.

Life in the Fat Lane by Cherie Bennett: This is a tale about when who you are starts to change and there�s nothing to do but sit back and watch. When Lara starts to uncontrollably gain weight, she starts to wonder why this is happening to her and if she can remain in good standing with her friends and family because of it. As she struggles to stay liked and loved she realizes who she is and who she is meant to be.

Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block: Here, when both Violet and Claire start to worry about how the other is living their life, it quickly turns to living on the edge and attempting to survive it. Using their support system of each other, the two girls tell of how they lived through the terrible things that happened to them. Here, withstanding peer pressure is overlooked by the girls because of their striving to be at the top of the cooperate ladder.

Smack by Melvin Burgess: The idea here is discovering how hard life can be on your own, even if what you left behind is quite less than glamorous. When Tar runs away with his girlfriend Gemma, they find themselves starting to use heroin. This is the tale of how the attempt of self-discovery can lead down a path of misfortune filled with everything but the ability to withstand peer pressure.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky: The idea in this tale is for the reader to slowly discover what lies underneath Charlie�s exterior. Through a series of letters addressed to �friend� the reader travels with Charlie on his journey to self discovery.

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman: Here, in a search for lack of identity, Brent Bishop accidentally takes the life of a fifteen-year old girl. Her mother has an odd request instead of pressing charges. The idea is that Brent will find himself and what he strives to be in the completion of his odd task. Seeking one�s independence is illustrated here through accidental tragedy and the search is that much more powerful because of it.

Concluding the Unit

At the end of the unit, students should have a greater insight on what it takes to withstand peer pressure and form and independent lifestyle. Have the students take notes on each of their classmate�s group presentations of the novels and conclude the unit with a class discussion of the books, characters, and success or defeat of gaining independence. Students should speak at least once about a novel other than their own for participation credit. Note that any notes or writing the students do relating to the unit should be done in their journals. This brings me to one final assignment and that is to have the students respond to the unit of study as a whole stating what they learned, what they liked, disliked, things they would have liked to do differently, and any critiques they want to share with you the teacher and not the class. Any confidence in writing these things should be honored and not shared with the rest of the class. This Unit of Study will succeed in any classroom whose teacher wants to help their students to live their own lives away from controlling peers and hopefully help those controlling peers to realize their harmful ways and be satisfied with simply being a �leader� in their social world rather than a controlling ruler.

 

Works Cited

Almost Famous. Dir. Cameron Crowe. Vinyl Films, 2000. DVD

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. New York: Farrar Stratus Giroux, 1999. Print.

Anderson, M.T. Feed. Candlewick Press, 2002. Print.

Beatles, The. �Let it Be.� Let it Be. Apple, 1970. Audiocassette. http://www.elyrics.net/read/b/beatles-lyrics/let-it-be-lyrics.html

Bennett, Cherie. Life in the Fat Lane. New York: Delacorte, 1998. Print.

Block, Francesca Lia. Violet and Claire. New York: HarperCollins, 1999. Print.

Burgess, Melvin. Smack. New York: Henry Holt, 1996. Print.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pocket, 1999. Print.

Cormier, Robert. Tenderness. New York: Delacorte, 1997. Print.

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. New York: HarperCollins, 2001. Print.

Ella Enchanted. Dir. Tommy O�Haver. Miramax, 2004. DVD.

Fleischman, Paul. Whirligig. New York: Henry Holt, 1998. Print.

Frost, Robert. The Road Not Taken. Mountain Interval, 1920. Writing. http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15717

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. 1967. Print.

O�Brian, Tim. The Things They Carried. 1990. Print.

R.E.M. �Everybody Hurts.� Automatic for the People. Warner Bros, 1992. CD. http://www.lyrics007.com/R.E.M.%20Lyrics/Everybody%20Hurts%20Lyrics.html