| "O Levels these days are soooo much easier - teenagers today don't even need to learn the basics!" |
Firstly, they're now called GCSEs - that's General Certificate of Secondary Education, and they aren't easier - they're different. Today individual creativity is encouraged a lot more, whereas "back-in-the-day" it was generally understood that the class would perform the same activities together, with students doing very similar work to each other. For example, where there used to be class exercises in writing (e.g. "Here is a sentence, now tell me where the adjectives/nouns/verbs
/adverbs are . . . .") we now have imaginative-writing exercises where students write a piece and then may go through with the teacher and class correcting mistakes and demonstrating skills that others can use. And that's a more efficient way to learn the basics AND advanced skills. | "Teenagers are always hanging around town and loitering-with-intent, in my day we all had jobs - or were at least using our time wisely!" |
For every five teenagers you see "loitering" there are probably about 100 teenagers at home or work "using their time wisely". 
For teenagers trying to balance coursework, exam-preparation and general studying, finding a suitable job is very, very difficult. | | Matt Mulligan |
Revision plays a large part in teenagers' timetables, particularly as they approach exams, and those you see loitering are probably the ones without jobs. You also need to remember that for teenagers trying to balance coursework, exam-preparation and general studying, finding a suitable job is very, very difficult. Finding the time to fit everything in can be stressful, and that's the last thing a teenager needs - growing up is stressful enough, and today's teens are the most over-tested teenagers ever! | "Schools are teaching all sorts of things that teenagers shouldn't know about until they're older. And look at the effects!" |
Statistics show that there are larger numbers of teenage pregnancy and increased numbers of sexually-transmitted infections in younger age groups nowadays, but this is NOT because of what's being taught. In my view, it's quite the opposite.  | | Adult claims that today's teenagers have it easy make Matt mad! |
The teaching of Relationships & Sexual Education isn't aimed at encouraging earlier sexual activity, but preparing teenagers for later life. By raising awareness in this way, teens begin to realise and understand risks and preventions before they come into contact with them. Perhaps we should blame other factors for the rise in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases. Look at the increasingly sexual nature of television and advertising . . . | "Teens today are slobs! They're always sat on a computer or watching TV, and don't even get me onto their DIET." |
Straight away there is a fatal flaw in the argument - the references to how the media (TV, computers etc) are making us teenagers "slobs". Consider my case. I'm 15 years old and one year ago I chose my "options" (the stage at secondary school at which point you choose specialist-subjects, a language and continue to study the "core-subjects" of Maths, Science and English). Had I chosen "business studies", the work would require me to study certain media such as television or the internet. Would doing this make me a slob?
Does the fact that I spend a reasonable amount of time doing exam prep and other work on a computer make me a slob? I feel that there's an unfair judgement there. | | Matt Mulligan |
And does the fact that I spend a reasonable amount of time doing exam prep and other work on a computer make me a slob? I feel that there's an unfair judgement there. Concerning diet, there is undeniable evidence that many more children and teenagers are clinically overweight and not as fit compared to 40 or so years ago. One reason for such fitness was intensive exercise enforced by the school. I'm in year 11 and because I haven't chosen PE as a specialist subject I only get a single Physical Education lesson per fortnight! Fortunately for me I take care of my diet, but for those that don't perhaps it's partly because of the school system's PE policy that their health is suffering. Obviously we teens need to put the effort in, but don't blame us for not doing so if we're not allowed to! | "Teens have so much technology helping them these days - it's a miracle that they actually do any of the work!" |
Well, actually, on top of the work we do with all the new technology, we have to learn to use it! New forms of media such as the internet are excellent educational aids, not least because of the process of learning to use them to start with. | "Teens today don't think about anything outside their own lives - they're so ignorant!" |
Actually awareness of serious world issues in the teenage population is massive nowadays. The war in Iraq caused huge anti-war demonstrations, many organised by teens (and not just teens who wanted to skive!) and lots of teenagers have demonstrated preferences for buying fair-trade and environmentally-friendly products. »BBC Talking Teenagers survey results »BBC Talking Teenagers county responses 
Tell us your views on this article or teen life in general and we'll publish them on BBC Gloucestershire. | 
