Advancing into Adulthood and Society

Contrary to what many parents believe, when the young adult decides to move on with his or her life, wanting to spend more time with his/her friends, often increasing his/her activities outside the home, and generally becoming self-reliant, independent, and self-governing, family life is not finished. American parents constantly encourage children to think, analyze, to be responsible, dependable, and conscientious. Ever attentive, observant, thoughtful, always gathering information and processing their experiences, children must learn about life’s options and obligations. They experience negotiation, utilizing their parent/others for direction or advice; they must learn their way round their world and their ever-expanding society. Character development becomes integral to the process.

Some sociologists/psychologists proposed that one’s character and personality are primarily derived from one’s heredity and earliest environment that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”. The early family environment is probably the strongest factor influencing individual development: children imitate parents, close family members “to fit into our society”.

Why is one child resourceful, curious/inquisitive, impelled, and cultured while another child in the same family remains unimaginative, simple, uncouth, perhaps rebellious and taciturn? Where does ambition, adventurousness, eagerness, enthusiasm come from, when the parents and community are resigned, content, passive or indifferent?

Influential factors: heredity –vs. - environment are widely discussed in sociological and psychological circles. Research has discovered and now surmise there is a wondrous blending of both heredity and environment in human development.

Children like to experience people leading interesting lives, learning things, changing life’s rhythms, they need to see people making choices that they might make too. People learn to deal in currencies which are meaningful. Each person searches for an environment in which he/she will survive, thrive, and reach his/her full potential.

Note: to deal in currencies which are meaningful – to find motivation which is important to a person.

1. Paraphrase the following expressions using their synonyms from the text:

to develop in one’s life and become older and more experienced, to learn from one’s experience, to learn a particular manner or style of behaving in the surrounding world, to have qualities and experience that are suitable for a particular group of people.

2. Explain what is meant by:

to move on with one’s life, to increase one’s activity outside the home, to process one’s experience, to utilize one’s parents for advice, to learn one’s way round one’s world, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, to fit into society

3. Match A and B:

A B

1. self-reliant 2. resourceful 3. impelled 4. uncouth 5. taciturn

a. approving good at finding ways of dealing with practical problems b. able to decide what to do by yourself without depending on the help or advice of other people c. behaving and speaking in a way that is rude or socially unacceptable d. determined to do something e. speaking very little so may seem unfriendly