The Road to Whatever Review - Book Report/Review Example

Different individuals go through different life experiences that are affected by various issues for instance family background. The characters, children and youths, in “The Road to Whatever” exhibit a rebellious behavior where they do not seem to care about the consequences of their actions either to themselves or to other people that may be affected. Most of the children in this story come from a family background that is relatively stable for instance in terms of finances. Despite this opportunity, these children engage in delinquent activities such as drug and alcohol abuse among others.

Parents on the other hand have not been in a position to handle their children’s behavior effectively as there have been instances of misperception in regard to what ought to be done. This therefore shows that it is not because of ‘lack’ but rather the presence of a culture that does not appreciate the children and makes them know where they go wrong. Parents also try to correct the children inappropriately, through punishment, an aspect that make them feel unwanted hence resulting in indulgence in criminal activities as a way to hide their embarrassment (Currie, 2006).

Currie Elliot the author of The Road to Whatever: Middle-Class Culture and the Crisis of Adolescence is a sociologist an aspect that has helped in bringing out the various sociological aspects that are depicted in the story in question. According to the author, there has been a change in how the society operates especially in regard to treatment of children and youths. For instance, parents and caregivers have neglected their responsibility of bringing up their children in an appropriate manner and yet they are very hard on them once they make some mistakes.

Poor treatment of teenagers by the parents is largely to blame for the teenagers’ indulgence in criminal activities. Respect and dignity are simple but yet very crucial aspects in an individual and in their absence, there is a high possibility of going astray in an effort to fight back feelings of humiliation and disrespect (Currie, 2006). My personal experience as a teenager was not any different from that of the children in this book. At times we became very bad enemies with my parents as they tried to force me do things that did not please me or those I considered not to be my responsibility.

One instance that I do remember is when I became the 10th student in class in regard to performance whereas previously I would not go beyond position three. My dad was so mad at me and treated me as a failure stating that it was due to bad company and influence. I felt so hurt bearing in mind that I had always worked hard before. To counter this, I decided to be reluctant so that they would learn to appreciate good performance and advise when I made mistakes. Being in the career of criminal justice, it is evident that I will be faced with various issues that relate to instilling of discipline or rather solving behavior- related cases.

Here, I ought to be very critical so as to make the best response to avoid affecting the children in a negative manner that would make them turn rebellious rather than correcting their ways. The first thing that I would advocate for particularly among parents is that they should try as much as possible to understand their children so that they may be in a position to handle them in a manner that do not in any way seem to be a form of punishment