Youth in the 70s: An Essay by the Late Ken Peterson, Andrew Warde High School's Former Headmaster, on the Attitudes of Students

The following was written nearly 34 years ago by the late Ken Peterson, the former headmaster of Andrew Warde High School. This piece appeared in the October, 1974, Crimson Crier newspaper and focuses on youth in the 1970s.

It offers a unique perspective into what our views were like over a generation ago. It also may provide for a comparison between the attitudes of teenagers from over 30 years ago with those of their counterparts --- our children --- of today.

Cynical. Apathetic. Optimistic. Rebellious. Thoughtful. Cooperative. Serious. What is the mood of youth in the America of the seventies, and particularly the students at Andrew Warde High School?

As students return to school this fall, high school teachers, principals, and parents are looking for answers. Many of them are revealed in The Mood of American Youth, a recent study by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Gilbert Youth Research Corporation of New York.

The study shows that most students today want to work within the system. Many of our students perform volunteer work through the school, their churches, and other organizations --- and many more are interested in doing so.

Interviews with high school students throughout the nation probed their attitudes on education, work, school activities, parents and family, marriage, politics, religion, the use of leisure time, and the future of American society.

The survey shows that students today are cautiously optimistic about their lives as adults of the eighties. Young people feel:

• that their schools are providing them with a satisfactory education (77%; 99% plan to finish high school);


• that high school students should have the opportunity to work part-time during the high school year (84%);


• that happiness at home (92%) is more important than fame (less than 2%);


• that participation in politics is tasteful but that voting is a civic responsibility; 78% plan to vote in every election for which they're eligible;


• that social reform should be accomplished peacefully through community service rather than radical upheaval; 43% are already involved in community service, 59% would like to be more involved, and over 40% plan to expand or continue their involvement after high school;


• that goals are important and that hard work will be necessary to achieve them (95%);


• that those goals will be centered around completing an education (35%), finding a job (52%), and settling into marriage and a family (46%);


• that most difficulties with their parents are the result of communication problems, rather than deep philosophical divisions. Less than 5% of the students expressed strong disagreement with their parents' ideas on politics, clothing styles, choice of friends, religion, education, drugs, and work, but 16% said they could not accept their parents' ideas on sex;


• that overpopulation (23%) and ecology (36%) are today's two most important global issues; poverty (20%) and the threat of a third world war (21%) were also much on students' minds;


• that political change can be accomplished by working within the government. Over 50% feel that the present constitutional government serves U.S. citizens well; less than 6% said it should be abolished in favor of another form.

What do you think? How do the attitudes of teenagers from over a generation ago compare with those of today's high school students? I'd like to know. Feel free to post your thoughts in the "comments" link below.

Paul

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