British youth problems

“Never let your head hang down. Never give up

and sit down and grieve. Find another way!”
Richard M. Nixon, 37th president of the USA

1. Read the quote above and explain its meaning. Do you agree with this
statement?
Yes,I agree with this statement
Your opinion.
2. What is the most complete definition of the word “problem”? Why do you think
so? Give examples of problems in sentences.
A problem is a question raised for consideration or solution.
There's no obvious solution to the problem.

3. A. Find synonyms and antonyms for the word “problem” among the
following words: case, help, challenge, obstacle, answer, assistance, matter,
question, dilemma, solution, trouble, complication, agreement.
Synonims: case, challenge, obstacle, matter, question, dilemma, trouble,
complication
Antonyms: help answer assistance solution agreement
B. Make up your own examples with these words.

4. Read the text. Share your opinion with your partner about the problems of
youth in Great Britain.
Problems of teenagers and youth in Great Britain. Today it is fashionable
to speak about teenage problems. A few years ago alcohol, fights, killings
and other kinds of violence were more problems for adults than for young
people. But now, as official report admits, violence, AIDS, drugs and alcohol are
more and more associated with youngest. For many children from poor families,
violence, drinking problems and all that is associated with poverty becomes more
real than reality.
What are the main reasons of these problems?
Alcohol. Reasons that teens use alcohol are: curiosity, to feel good, reduce stress
and relax, to fit in, to feel older, kids see advertising messages showing beautiful
people enjoying life – and alcohol, many parents and other adults use alcohol
socially – having beer or wine with dinner, people live in homes where a parent or
other family member drinks too much, a typical teenager seeks independence in
everything and loses self-confidence.
Smoking. Disadvantages and bad effects of smoking: constricts the airways of the
lungs, increases the smoker’s heart rate, elevates the smoker’s blood pressure,
causes lung cancers, emphysema, and other respiratory diseases, greatly increases
your risks for lung cancer and many other cancers, kills and the effects of second
hand smoke are also bad for the health of those around you.
Drugs. Young people can now access drugs in every town and village around UK.
British surveys suggest that 45% aged 16 to 29 have used illegal drugs. Youth need
credible, realistic information to protect themselves from the risk and dangers
of drug addiction. A total of 1.75 million school pupils have used an illegal drug at
least once, of which at least 300,000 are doing it regularly. Reasons that teens take
drugs are: for the pleasure they believe they can bring; there are many kinds of
drugs available; someone tried to convince them that drugs would make them feel
good or that they’d have a better time if they took them; some teens believe drugs
will help them think better, be more popular, stay more active, or become better
athletes; one try won’t hurt; to gain attention from their parents; they’re depressed
or think drugs will help them escape their problems. People who take drugs may
feel slow or stupid and have failures in life; drugs will completely destroy all the
creativity a person has; feel restless, anxious and moody, become excitable and
have a false sense of power and security; interfere with coordination, physical
effects of drugs increase in blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and body
temperature.
There are a lot of organizations such as “Adfam” or “DEPIS” in England that help
parents in cases connected with drugs. Unsafe/unprotected sex, pregnancies.
Reasons that teens have unsafe sex are: peer pressure; the passion of the moment;
the media, which often portrays sex as an act with no negative results; sex in film
and television rarely ends up in the character dying a AIDS, or giving birth to an
unwanted baby; the feeling it “won’t happen to them”; some young men simply
refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of unsafe sex; some young men
may pressure their girlfriends to have sex, and the girls give in as they hope for
love and affection, while the boys simply want a sexual experience; having unsafe
sex is not only an act of stupidity, it can quite easily be avoided – the ease of birth
control devices.
Teenage Pregnancies are common in Britain, as many feel that sex education,
and peer pressures to have sexual relations earlier are to blame. Sex education in
GB is much less explicit as it is in other European countries. Other reasons for the
high teen pregnancy rate include a changing in family values. The family values
are not considered as important as it was before, and so having children when not
in a safe, normally married environment, isn’t as frowned upon as it was in the
past.
5. 20 % of teen pregnancies end with the birth of the baby.
Shortage of money. Lack of their own money in the younger age group means that
a great deal of their time is spent with friends, window-shopping in town, cycling
or skate-boarding. There are a great many things that young people wish to buy,
including clothes and magazines, CDs and cassette tape music, computer games
and jeweler. They save money for bicycles, motorbikes and, eventually, cars of
their own, and to have enough money to go to the discos and dances.
Problem of unemployment leads to material problems. Jobs are difficult to find.
For some, the answer to unemployment is to leave home and look for work in one
of Britain’s big cities. Every day hundreds of young people arrive in London from
other parts of Britain, looking for jobs. Some find work and stay. Others don’t find
it, and go home again, or join the many unemployed in London.
At 15 years old and above, young people try to find “Saturday jobs”, working as
assistants in shops, hairdressers, hotels, cafés or restaurants, delivering
newspapers, washing cars, etc. To start working teenagers need to have a work
permit. An application form for the work permit can be obtained from school or
local Education Welfare Office.15 and 16 year olds may work for up to 8 hours on
Saturdays and up to a maximum of 35 hours during school holidays.
When you read the newspapers and watch the news on television, it’s easy to get
the idea that British young people are all unemployed, angry and in trouble. To
some people, teens today may seem spoiled (undisciplined and egocentric)
compared to those of earlier times. The reality, however, is different. Peer pressure,
changing family conditions, mobility of families and unemployment are just a few
reasons why some young people may try to escape reality by turning to alcohol or
drugs. However, most young people in Great Britain do not have problems with
drinking, drug abuse, teen pregnancies or juvenile delinquency. Three quarters of
them do more or less what their parents did. They do their best at school, find some
kind of work in the end, and get married in their early twenties. They get on well
with their parents, and enjoy family life. They eat fish and chips, watch football
on TV, go to the pub, and like reading about pop stars. After all, if they didn’t, they
wouldn’t be British, would they?

5. Discuss the following questions.

1. What are the major problems faced by youth in Great Britain?
drinking, drug abuse, teen pregnancies or juvenile delinquency
2. What are the main reasons of these problems?
Peer pressure, changing family conditions, mobility of families and unemployment
3. What problems do you have in your daily life? Is it difficult to solve them?
I don’t have any problems.
4. Is Internet addiction a problem of today’s teenagers?
No, I don’t thinks so.
5. What other harmful habits are there among teenagers?
poor overall diet quality. not meeting national physical activity guidelines. eating fast
food three or more times per week

6. How does the mass media describe the young generation?

It was concluded that mass media, especially the electronic media and Internet are making
young generation irreligious, aggressive and materialistic. Media promotes fashion phobia and
vulgarity. The study findings also demonstrate that media increased awareness about political,
social and environmental issues.
7. What is the author’s attitude to the young people?
8. What are some other problems faced by youth in Britain and Ukraine?

6. Work in groups of 3-4 pupils. Imagine you are pupils of British and Ukrainian
schools. Speak about the following problems of teenagers and youth in Great
Britain and Ukraine.
8. Choose the project you’d like to do. Use additional sources.

Project 1. A portrait of modern Ukrainian youth (compare with British youth).

Project 2. Suggest your theme you’d like to tell about.