Статья по английскому языку на тему "Generation Gap Problems"
статья по английскому языку (11 класс)

Generation Gap

Nowadays a lot of people think that generation gap is problem №1 not only in family relationships, but in society as a whole. Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and is always true. However, it has never been truer than it is today.

Many lessons in our school curriculum are devoted to this topic, so is the lesson in the 11th form “Problems and Solutions”, where pupils try to analyze the problems of the eternal conflict between the generations.

Such lesson is better structured when it takes the form of a  conference  .   The  class   is  divided  into two teams :Parents and Children .The participants are to prepare interesting facts , stories , quotations, proverbs, poems and songs before the conference .They understand that people have had the problem of generation gap for centuries and they also know that it has not been solved yet, but nevertheless the two teams try to find the ways out of difficult life situations.

The motto of the conference is  NEITHER PARENTS NOR  CHILDREN ARE TO BLAME. This is the idea which should  be proved during hot debates.

The team of parents describe young generation as “difficult”, ”rude”, ”wild” and “irresponsible “ .They keep thinking that the representatives  of  nowadays’ youth are in no way like the heroes from the past .Elderly people  usually compare their childhood and youth with the present and regard old times as better , always talking about ”the good old days” .

The young generation thinks  that their time is the best. They say that the young look forward and the old people look backward. This is inevitable , because different generations take different directions. Adults always teach the young how to live. They apply old standards to the new way of life. The past is hanging over them preventing them from   appreciating the things around them now.

The idea of  the young  generation is that the adults have lost touch with everything that is important in life. The team of children says that “parents often talk about the younger generation as if they didn’t have anything to do with it.” Young people are also not happy, because sometimes their parents don’t understand problems and things which are very important in teen’s life. For example: the lifestyle , piercing ,tattoos, relationship with friends  and teachers . The poem by Lynett Mong  is just about it: 

You say we're hopeless                                    And sleep in the light
Just got lost in between                                     You don’t know we’re children
The test-tube babies                                         The Homeless generation
And Stock Market dreams.                               Built on computer screens
You think we're losers,                                     And TV inspiration.
Don't watch the news                                       You don’t know we’re children
Listen to Radiohead                                         who grew up too soon.
And wear skater shoes.                                    Got lost on our way

You say we're worthless                                  From the earth to the moon.
Walk in the streets late at night

“Children” say that youth is the time when a person is trying to find his place in the world. During this search he /she comes across different problems which are as important  as those of the adults. The youth face  almost the same problems which were acute to the parents when they were young, but the youth has some advantages. First, they are young, enthusiastic and active. They are better educated .The young are in a fearful hurry to grow up. Instead of playing with Barbies and legos they are interested in love stories on TV . Tweens and teens have got a great desire for the latest in everything-from jeans with labels so that everyone will know that they’ve got the latest stuff-to CDs. They are fascinated by computers and spend hours and hours at their screens or at computer clubs.

On the other hand, nowadays we can see that the situation is changing. More and more often  parents keep-up-to-date with the  changes in our society. The representatives of “Parents” say that they look at the world with fresh eyes. They also try to understand teen’s problems and help to solve them instead of scolding, but they can’t stand  their  children lying in different situations. The children answer them with a sense  of humor using the poem by H.Glotova.  

To lie…or simply not to lie?

This question makes us mad .

And having thought for little time

We say :”to lie is bad”

It’s bad.OK.But let us see-

Though lie is mean and base,

We pull the mask of decency

On its unfair face.

Two friends are meeting in the street:

“It’s ages since we met!”

“Oh! how are you?”

“Not bad a bit”

“I’m also fine. All’s great!”

But things are different in fact-

The one has lost his goods,

The other quarreled with dad

And is in dreadful moods.

“I’m fine”

“He’s well.”

“You look so nice!”

“Now busy. Phone next day.”

We very often use these lies

Without sense of shame.

Of course such lies are etiquette,

Small points-cost no penny;

Although there is a proverb that

One trivial lie makes many.

After long debates on the generation gap topic both teams realize that the only way to solve this problem is to be tolerant and passionate, to understand  others’ points of view and develop communication skills. The team of Parents do agree with the idea that “a man who is not a Liberal at sixteen has no heart  ; and a man who is not a Conservative at sixty has no head.”(after Benjamin Disraeli), and the team of Children also agree with the saying by Aldai Stevenson about “that which seems the high of absurdity in one generation often becomes the hight  of wisdom in another.”

There are many sources about the generation gap which are interesting and useful for Parents and Children . They can help us to understand the problem better and find appropriate solutions for it,  so the following Internet addresses  http://www.onlinetutoringworld.com/lessonplans/generation-gap.htm

http://www.alllang.ru/node/176

http://uchis-student-mglu.narod.ru/page4.htmlhttp://www.whereincity.com/articles/general/6882.html 

can be very useful while working at the generation gap problem.

                         V. Iavorciuc

iavorciuc_v_l@mail.ru