American Cultural Inability 1

Running Head: AMERICAN CULTURAL INABILITY

American Cultural Inability to Pass on Positive Values

Bee Thao

Kaplan University
 American Cultural Inability 2

[Wong & Wong (2005)] discuss, in their epilogue on p. 313-322, the failure to teach
American youth values and optimistic pride in their culture. What do you guys make of
their statement that “Schools are being blamed for the ills of [American] society”, and
that it is actually the “inability of [American] culture to pass on its positive values [to
today's youth]”. (Buettner, 2010)

Wong & Wong (2005) state, “The family is the bulwark of culture” (p. 315). This is
truth, but the “inability of [American] culture to pass on its positive values” (p. 314) is not.
There has been a fundamental change in the values of most Americans over the past decade,
which either results in or is caused by a fundamental change in the family structure. No matter
how things are planned, children will usually end up mimicking or becoming what they are
exposed to everyday (Kane, Taub, & Hayes, 2000; Stein, 1973; Takeshima, et al., 1971). If
parents do not make the time to teach “positive” values to their children, then their children are
left to learn from the environment.
The past three decades has been rife with research and public outcry against media as a
vehicle for the degradation of American youth. The media is indeed a vehicle, but it is being
driven by parents. Children can spend up to a third of their weekday in schools; whereas up to
two thirds of their day can be spent with media, if they choose not to sleep. However, the media
is primarily geared towards adults or people who can and should have the ability to filter moral
and ethical overtones from even the most violent and worthless of information. When children
are faced with the same negative information, found in some forms of media, for so much of
their lives, they will grow up accepting it as a greater part of their values (Kane, Taub & Hayes,
2000; Stein, 1973). However, it is not the fault of the media; blame should be placed on parents.
The media is for adults; adults should not let their children grow up listening and watching the
media.
For instance, semi-logical thought processes are posed: Would parents raise their
daughter in a strip club or in a nice suburban home? Most parents would probably choose a nice
suburban home (“Suburb,” n.d.). But why ask about a strip club? Strip clubs are at a cultural
extreme from nice suburban homes and are clearly not suited for minors. These houses of ill
repute will always exist, just as burlesque bars existed (“Neo-burlesque,” 2007), and just as
prostitution continues to exist (“Prostitution,” n.d.). Such things will continue to exist; but
moral, ethical, wholesome Americans would not partake in such “negative values”, right? Sure.
However, even if parents did decide to go to the strip club, would they ever bring their daughter
along? They probably would not. So then, why leave her to the media?
Children spend, at most, 8 hours of the week day learning from teachers in schools. Is it
a valid assumption that parents were spending the other 16 hours with the children? It also
assumes the children belong to the American Nuclear Family of decades past which included one
male father, one female mother rather than non-traditional and single parent families (Althaus,
1994; “Nuclear family,” n.d.; Padgett, 2007). That’s not to say it’s negative, just that it has
changed dramatically from what may have been considered “positive” American Values. Along
these lines, schools only account for a third, or a half, of a child’s time. What preoccupies the
other portion? Is it media, or parents?
Parents are not teaching “positive” values; because they either do not have time or they
do not value their children. This argument is circular because if parents valued their children,
they would make time. At the same time, blame cannot be placed on the parents because they
were probably raised on the media as well. Research on television and effects on children have
 American Cultural Inability 3

been conducted since 1967 (Takeshima, et al., 1971), and violent media has affected moral
development since the same period of time (Stein, 1973). Therefore, the grandparents are to
blame for the parents’ inability to teach “positive values” to the current generation of American
parents.
Unfortunately, herein follows another semi-logical thought process: Did the
grandparents have time to teach the parents proper American values? Perhaps they did not have
time. They had the Korean War, World War 2, and the War in Vietnam to preoccupy their
efforts, leaving their children to television and radio media filled with the violence of the war
effort. Therefore, if the grandparents are not at fault, should we blame war? But war is an armed
conflict between states (“Funk & Wagnalls,” 1993); thus, should the government be at fault?
However, government is controlled by adults, is it not? Adults are mature and maturity is the
state of being “highly developed in intellect, outlook, etc” (“Funk & Wagnalls,” 1993, p.477).
As mature individuals, why would parents place blame on other people for things that they
controlled, either directly or indirectly? That doesn’t sound very mature.
Regardless, the shift in cultural values is infectious and will be perpetuated until stopped
by parents or guardians. Adults have several responsibilities in this regard. They can enjoy all
forms of media as much as they would like, but they should be judicious in what media is shared
with or around children. They must not only teach, but live and portray the “positive” values
that they want the next generation to learn. Parents should not blame American youth values on
schools or the media; they should take an introspective look at their own values and actions, then
clearly instill them into the next generation through their own children.

References

Althaus, F. (1994). U.S. birthrate decreased in 1991, but nonmarital fertility continued to rise.
Family Planning Perspectives, 26 (1), 43.

Buettner, S. (2010, February 12). Unit 6: School-wide procedures – Discussion [Msg 12:22 PM
MST]. Message posted to
http://kucourses.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=3883008&Survey=1&47=6550980&
ClientNodeID=404342&coursenav=2&bhcp=1

Funk & Wagnalls: Standard dictionary (2nd ed.). (1993). New York, NY: Harper Collins
Publishers, Inc.

Kane, H. D., Taub, G. E., & Hayes, B. G. (2000, September). Interactive media and its
contribution to the construction and destruction of values and character. Journal of
Humanistic Counseling, Education & Development, 39 (1), 53-56.

Neo-burlesque. (2007). Retrieved February 13, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-

Burlesque

Nuclear family. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2010, from

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_family
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Padgett, T. (2007, July 16). Gay family values. Time, 170 (3), 51.

Prostitution. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution

Stein, A. H. (1973). Mass media and moral development. American Association of

Elementarty-Kindergarten-Nursery Educators Conference. (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED080175)

Suburb. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suburb

Takeshima, Y., et al. (1971). Children and television: Main findings from Shizuoka survey (in
1967). Japan Broadcasting Corporation, Tokyo: Radio and Television Culture Research
Institute. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED054599)

Wong, H.K., & Wong, R.T. (2005). How to be an effective teacher: the first days of school.
Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.