Myth: All teens are hoodlums. I'm sure you've all heard stories about how old ladies saw a few kids walking down the street, and the old ladies would cross the street just so they don't have to walk past the teens. This is totally ridiculous. The vast majority of kids will not attack you! Probably there is a better chance of a mature adult attacking you than a teen. Most kids are good kids. Many of them, when you walk by them, will smile and greet you. At the worst, they will ignore you. Certainly nobody is going to attack you.
Myth: Teens are dumb. I hear all the time that young people are idiots. Not smart like the geezers were when they were teens. This again, is an ignorant comment. Most younger people I know happen to be at least fairly adaptable and intelligent. Almost without exception, younger people adapt better, and pick things up faster than older people. You hear all the time that oh, school isn't the way it was when we were young. When we were young, we got a solid understanding of the basics, yipper yapper and the other thing. Well, guess what? Times change. The school curriculum these days has less emphasis on the basics, fair enough. It does have more emphasis on things like communication, problem solving, and teamwork. For those who judge a person by their schooling, I say you betray your ignorance by your stupidity. You go to school to learn to learn. The skills you'll need in your career or whatever you won't learn in the classroom anyways. You'll learn it on the job. And on top of all that, teens are not dumb! So either these people who say that are ignorant, or they are dumb themselves! I've taught tutorials to university students. Without exception, it's been the older students who have been unable to understand, and unable to cope with the material. The kids right out of high school, they might have a bit of trouble at first, but once they get on the right track, they stay there. The old people are the ones who need coddling. I think that old people who say young people are stupid, are working from the wrong standards. Certainly, they haven't had the experience that the old people, especially in that job. So guess what geniuses? They aren't going to have that specialized knowledge.
Myth: There is something wrong with teens today. Flat out no. There ain't nothing wrong with them at all. Sure they're foolhardy, invincible, arrogant, rebellious and inexperienced. But all teens are. These old people who are constantly criticizing teens. They once were teens themselves. They once were foolhardy, invincible, arrogant, rebellious and inexperienced. The problem is, they don't remember how it was like to be like that. The people who criticize kids the most are the people who haven't spent much time with kids. Any elementary or secondary school teacher will tell you that this generation of kids is bright and eager to learn.
It really pisses me off really badly when people make blanket statements about the inherent badness of kids these days. These people do not know what they're talking to. And I'd like to give a big FUCK YOU to anybody who's crossed the street to avoid a few kids. Thank you.