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a book for teens by former teens
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xcriteria Offline
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Post: #31
Re: a book for teens by former teens

flann Wrote:But uh... teachers ARE former teens. Everyone 20years+ is a former teen.
Haha, excellent point.

Absentinsomniac Wrote:^That's why I was slightly reluctant to post in this. A lot of these types of things end in uppity ass holes trying to share their bullshit "wisdom" with previous generations.
Isn't that the point? (Aside from the "bullshit" part.) Smile

Seriously, I think it should be the result of a conversation between teens and adults who can relate, not just dogma. If an adult is well-meaning, they should also be capable of gaining some wisdom from you.

Absentinsomniac Wrote:Anyway, I believe we are on the right track. Explaining cognitive processes, critical thinking, actualization, logical thought processes, philosophical, political, ideological, psychological types of things and the like would be an awesome book. I would love to have it.
You can help make it! I think I have some things to contribute, having been so miserably failed and misunderstood by my parents and educational institutions. What makes me different from many is I want to understand things and I believe it's worth it to do so. I don't have all the answers, but I believe there are answers to be found that make a difference in life.

So few people, of whatever age, want to admit their understanding of the world is incomplete AND believe they are capable of making sense of the world AND believe it's worth it to do so.

I think there's far more to life than what many think, along with limitations, complications and problems that people also want to avoid thinking about. Making an ongoing effort to figure out what life can be, along with actually living it as understood, is difficult, but so worth it.

flann Wrote:It's also usually different from person to person... unique
But we are not unique in school, that is. We are all mathmaticians, book writers, programmers, pro critics, rocket scientists, politicians, and historians. (and more)
Yeah. Each person is unique. But in school, or often in other people's minds, we are just instances of a category. You can see this when you trigger one of those categories in someone's mind who you're interacting with. In the context of school survival, any adult activates a "schema" for adults, who are "uppity ass holes trying to share their bullshit "wisdom" with previous generations." That may be true in general, but not necessarily in every case. Using categories can be useful, but understanding their limitations is, as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_(psychology)

flann Wrote:You would make a new book like every 5 years because crap changes.
Some things change, some things don't. The laws of physics and the natural world are fixed in this universe. Man-made institutions and culture are subject to change. Technology changes. Individuals can change in some ways, but are fixed in others. Even things subject to change have recurring principles to them.

It's a challenge to make sense of what can and can't change, and what is in one's own power to change and what is not. And even if you have a good sense of those things, deciding what to do can be an even bigger challenge.

But struggling a bit with those questions can give you a much better appreciation for life's potential.

(The "Serenity Prayer" touches on those issues: "God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference." But it suffers from the same problem most conceptions of morality/ethics suffer: the assumption that ethics consists of nothing but abstaining from sickness and evil or doing things that have nothing to do with you. Life is full of opportunities and choices to pursue all kinds of values.)

The Desert Fox Wrote:I believe that the people who would write the book would be like us (if not us, lol), and they'd be fresh out of their teens so, in the case that "maturing" would happen, it would hardy have an effect because they'd just have been teens themselves.
This raises the question, "what is maturity?" (Also asked by Desu.)

Something that comes from a discussion between teens and "former teens" would probably make the most sense.
03-13-2011 01:52 PM
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Desu Offline
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Post: #32
Re: a book for teens by former teens

Quote:You would make a new book like every 5 years because crap changes.

You don't make a new book, you update it and release new editions. And only some things would need to be updated.

RIP GORE GOROTH

He was an hero. He will always be remembered.
03-13-2011 04:09 PM
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stevehein Offline
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Post: #33
a book for teens by former teens

Today I started something I hope will evolve and grow into something like this "book for teens"

http://www.eqi.org/p1/uruguay/book4teens/book4teens.htm
06-03-2013 11:02 PM
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stevehein Offline
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Post: #34
a book for teens by former teens

i need some more encouragement to keep working on this idea.. i like the idea but ive got a lot of stuff going on. so for anyone who also likes it, plz let me know. or if ur willing to help with it
06-07-2013 06:58 PM
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xcriteria Offline
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Post: #35
a book for teens by former teens

Definitely. I think more is needed than a book -- for example, some online, maybe wikified format could be useful. I've also been playing around with different ways to link together videos, texts, and stories that would be hard to do entirely on paper.

Still I think a book could be a good part of an overall effort. I've collected a lot of materials, and there are more stories here every day. The question is how to put things into a format people find useful.

(And I think a big part of that is putting things in a form parents, educators, and so on can read and appreciate! That could help improve a lot of people's situations.)

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06-07-2013 09:10 PM
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