Evening star., 1952-03-16
MORALS

older group voted for city apartment The young people
wanted three four children, while their weary parents
thought one or two made the ideal family
More young people than mddeaged felt that hard work
will get young person ahead faster Fewer thought that the
world is such mess there's trying More young people
than adults in this group went to church. and more thought
there God who rewards and Furnishes after death.
Mrs Harrison S. Elliott general secretary of the National
Board of the Young Womens Christian Association, thinks
it nothing short of remarkable that youth find such
faith in our times.
ideals But am closely associated with thousands of young
people from every walk of life and let say that
teenagers don't know right from wrong or that they have
cynical selfish moral standards generation ago young
people all worried almost exclusively about getting
Job and getting ahead Now they much concerned
about international amty and the application of democratic
principles to practical living They interested in the
square deal than the big deal"
Overall Picture
We HEARD many criticisms of todays teenagers
Much of the particularly in regard to reckless
driving obviously justified But found that themen.
and whose life work involves them closely with young
people the very experts had expected to find most dis
isioned = be the most hopeful All said they stayed
that way by keeping their the overall picture
and not permitting themselves to be set back by
sensational individual tragedies Three outstanding teen
age authorities Elliott of the YWCA Professor Good
win Watson of Teachers College and DR.. Harold Manu.
psychiatrc consutant in the us. Childrens Bureau
advised parents and others interested in evauang the moral
behavior of today's teen-agers to remember:
l. The period of physical and emotional adjust
ment Even young people who clearly headed for very
mature and stable adthood sometimes pass through periods
of Wild irresponsible distressing activity Although it may
cause awful uproar at the time it apparently has little
effect on the final result AS pointed out in last weeks
ton of this report crime drugs and reckless driving the
adult should play important role in channelng youthful
energy so that young people let off steam in
that will do no harm to themselves or others.
z Youth not getting and worse" with each succeed
ing generation Teen-agers do not live in world of their
own but in the world which share with them. Juvenile
delinquency very clearly goes up and down with the rise and
fall of general living standards with good times and bad with
the changing thermometer of and international
tensions, with public calm and turmoil
3Teenagers say the and women who know them best
willing and anxious work their problems to clear
their record Society has been better equipped to help
them Hence youths prospects encouraging and this coun
try has feel optimistic about its rising generation
We found that faith in young people sometimes carries
the experts away Of all the authorities talked to- we
shall best remember the Detroit hgschoo teacher whose
chief what going to happen 1888 to
five unusually promising teenagers in of his classes
They're all the age" he said Il guess only one can
be President but all five deserve it." The End