8th Grade Perspective | November 19th, 2013

Click on the photograph and watch a 90 second video clip from Australia. Then return to this article and experience an 8th grade perspective.

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Be careful what you do and say around your kids. You could be writing their future and sealing the fate of the human world.

Children start out as a blank sheet of paper. They have no experience. No words. No movement. They just exist. But that is why there are other humans. They are here to help the children learn how to become themselves. But they learn what we want them to learn because they learn by looking at what we do. The kids see the habits we have and they begin to learn these habits. That is why the families with issues tend to have children with issues. We have to remember that they watch what we do. They learn from us. It is important that we present positive actions to the children of our world because they are the future.

Children are the future and parents and role models should have an influence that is positive and helps the people and environment around them. Negative actions can have devastating impacts on children who witness and mimic the behaviors regardless of the intention of the actor. All things done in the world are never forgotten. They are actions that, once born, repeat. Everyone should make positive contributions to the people around them and their surroundings.

Teens and kids learn life lessons from being lectured by an adult, going through a problem yourself, or looking up to someone. We influence others and need to be aware of how we react differently because of who we are surrounded by or who raised us. Parents have a lot of responsibility when it comes to kids and how those kids decide to live and how they treat others.

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Romeo and Juliet is a sad play. The stuff that happens in the plot happens in real life. Abuse. Yelling. Domestic violence. That stuff really gets to children. Kids (and adults) will repeat their parents mistakes if they’re not careful. Trust me, I know. I know some people who should really see this play and think deeply about the themes Shakespeare teaches. Doing so may change the fate of many individuals. People say that our generation of youth is ruining society. Maybe it is true, but did they ever stop to think about the generation that raised us? 

When children see something, they think about it. Like all human beings, they look up to their parents. They do what they see their role models do. This can result in the best of things or an extremely troubled child. Is this what we want? Do we want our dumb, cruel and unnecessary actions to reflect on our future generation? Do we want a world made of hate and crime? Do we want a world where people suffer for the actions we make? Is this the path we want to take?

We repeat ourselves every time. Each generation has suffering, hate and stupidity. Nowadays we have the cowardly impulse to hide it behind TV, games, fun, wealth, fame, things WE want, and forget about the pain and suffering of the world. We blame it on tyrannical people like Hitler, Stalin, bin Laden, but is that the truth? The truth is that we cause this suffering. We are the problem. We need to open our eyes. Children want to do the right thing. Little kids will do what we do because they look up to us.  Let’s stand up and be honest about the state of the world so the future can be honest. We are the problem and the solution. Give the future something to look up to. Discouraged people think it won’t make an impact. Is that true? Look in the mirror. We do make an impact. Let’s make the right impact. We are the solution. We always are. Always have been. It’s our fate. We are fated to make choices that lead us to our ultimate destiny. I just hope our choices don’t hurt.

People should realize that if you are close to a child, to them, you’re a role model. So if they see you doing something, no matter good or bad, they’ll copy you without realizing the damage of what they did. Because they’re still learning and often times don’t know better. It’s better to do good as much as you can than to do bad and later on regret the bad. Kids are the future, no matter their age, physical and or mental features. So in order for everyone’s future to be good and bright, honest and respectful, we need to show the current generation that we can do good for ourselves AND others, no matter the financial price. Money is make believe compared to people who are suffering from lack of food, water, clean air, shelter and community connection.

Life is not an experiment. You only get one chance to do what is, overall, right. That chance is called life. Be what you want to see. You may not have been lucky enough to have a good role model, but you can be different. You can be who you want. You don’t have to follow in someone else’s footsteps. So make the future right. Show our generation how to do good that you can see! This generation is impressionable and looking for positive role models!

Thank you for reading our thinking on paper. We have a peaceful and beautiful community and are lucky for the safety and security we have. 

8th Grade Teenagers