Growing Up - Term 1

Response to ‘Senior Year of High School’ Article:

Through the use of a variety of language choices and visuals, ‘Senior Year of High School’ conveys a variety of messages regarding growing up; however, the article is clearly targeted towards an adult audience. The title of the article indicates that growing up is a time of gaining independence, reflecting upon one’s childhood, and excitement at the prospect of the many opportunities that become available to teenagers, as they grow older. This is evident through the use of quite positive language such as, ‘nostalgia, excitement’ and ‘possibility.’  These particular language choices suggest that growing up is a very positive experience for teenagers. However, the by-line that follows, along with the language choice of ‘temptation,’ suggests that there is also a negative aspect to growing up, and it is at this point in the article that it becomes clear that adults, in particular, parents, are the target audience. The use of the word ‘temptation’ implies that often, teenagers engage in negative, risk-taking and experimental behaviour in their final year of high school, and the by-line goes onto the suggest that parents should therefore be even more vigilant in their parenting as teenagers still need guidance through the crucial, final year of high school. Even though teenagers are gaining independence, as they grow older, the article suggests that they still need some guidance from their parents, indicated through the line, ‘but that doesn’t mean it’s time to let go.’ While the title suggests that growing up is a very positive experience, the main purpose of the article is to inform parents that often their teenagers will engage in behaviour that may be detrimental to their future. Thus, parents are encouraged to ‘reinforce their expectations,’ ‘provide safe alternatives,’ and to always ‘set a good example’ for their teenagers as they enter the final year of high school. The article concludes with the idea that parental support is a necessity as growing up is a time that only comes around once. Therefore, teenagers need to be positively influenced in order to make the most of the opportunities presented to them.