ABSTRACT
Our society has failed in teaching children many skills that are needed in order to function effectively as adults. Families generally rely on authoritarian methods of child-rearing, and most educational settings also are authoritarian. Children are given few opportunities to contribute to decision making whereby responsibilities may be learned. Thus, children are ill equipped to participate in a democratic society as they strive for maturity and independence. Rebellion is the order of the day, and parents, teachers, counselors, and other adults often are at a loss to know how to deal effectively with this rebellion. The inability of adults to work with alienated youths is matched by tremendous discouragement among youth as they strive to find a place in today’s world.
