Jill Brothwell - Blog 8

School and society blog 8

Chapter eight of out textbook discussed transitions from school to work. We talked about this topic on Tuesday and watched a video that was in direct response to this subject. One of the terms this chapter discussed was the term “gapper” I am a gapper. A gapper is someone who completed high school and then enters the labour force where they work for a bit before deciding to continue with their education (235). I graduated from high school in 2004 and did not continue with my education until 2010. This chapter touched on social capitol (239), which is something we have previously discussed. This social capitol is something that worries me a bit, because I know that when it comes to finding a job, “who you know” plays into the process greatly.  The chapter talks about the “youth divide” in the transition period from youth to adult (255). They explain this divide as a breakdown of those who successfully transition into adulthood and those who do not (255). I know many people who did not successfully transition into adulthood. I remember the thing that first attracted me to my now husband was the fact that at 20 years old he already had a house (with his friends) a successful job (building and servicing cell phone towers) and new how to clean, cook and pay bills. I was currently dating someone who was 24.. lived with mommy and daddy, did not know the difference between fabric softener and detergent and worked at a gas station. My transition into adulthood was smooth.. I moved out when I was 18 (as soon as I could), got a good job that paid the bills and experienced a smooth and linear transition. The text book explains that social structures (that were explained in chapter 7) influence individualized transitions (256), I think this is true to a degree, as my bother and I both lived in the same house, we both experienced the same social structure and my transition into adult hood was smooth and successful and his was…NOT. Clearly there are many variables that influence success in transitioning and in our circumstances in all came back to personality, motivation and drive.. I had it—he did not. And his personal choices that he made were not due to his social structures but rather due to laziness and taking the “easy” way out.. and this caused him to have to move back home, after only one year on his own. Therefore transitions into adulthood are very important and attempts sometimes result in failure. Now he did try again when he was “ready”.. 26 years old and now has successfully made that transition.

Discussion question. Can the action of transitioning fro youth to adulthood really be explained by family structures or is it much more complex then that?