AUBURN – Krista Golletti would be happier learning more from the real world. The 17-year-old uses the Internet to instant-message her friends and her cell phone to keep in touch off-line. She believes obesity is a bigger problem for teenagers than depression or smoking.
A Lewiston High School junior, Golletti gets A’s and B’s. But she’d give her school a slightly lower grade.
“I think they just have stupid rules,” she said, rolling her eyes.
According to a new national survey, Golletti is a typical teen.
Conducted by the Horatio Alger Association, the annual State of Our Nation’s Youth survey asked more than 1,000 American high school students about their lives, their schools and the pressures they face.
It showed today’s teens as hard workers and devotees of technology who like their high schools (sort of), feel ready for college and want more time with family.
Local teens agreed.
Golletti, her 15-year-old sister and a 17-year-old friend even answered some of the survey questions in unison.
Drinking is a problem at the high school, they said. They plan to go to college. And what piece of technology – cell phones, the Internet or cable TV – would they be willing to give up for a month?
“TV!” they exclaimed together, then burst into giggles.
Nearly half of teens in the national survey said TV.
Kory Vanek, a 17-year-old student-athlete at Oak Hill High School, would rather give up the Internet. But like Golletti, and nearly all teens in the national survey, he wished lessons were more connected to the real world. And like a third of teens, he believes schools aren’t doing enough to prevent bullying.
“I don’t know how to stop it,” said Vanek, who has been threatened in school. “But if (the bullies) were bullied, they would know how everyone else feels.”
Nick Walker, a 16-year-old junior at Mt. Ararat High School, agreed that it’s a major problem.
“A lot of kids are getting bullied. They don’t want to come to school,” he said.
Walker, who gets mostly C’s and D’s in his classes, admitted he should try harder in school. And like 88 percent of teens, he said he would try harder if the school raised its standards.
He wants to get good grades and have a good college career, Walker said during a shopping trip with friends Tuesday.
Like most teens surveyed, he would like to see more academic help after school. He feels pressure from his parents to do better in school.
Despite that, he wants more time with family, like nearly half of other teens.
“I don’t get to see them a lot,” he said. “I’m in school. They work late.”
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