1.A major social change in the last 20 years is in the number of adolescents who are part of the labor force while still attending school. During the 1978-1979 school year, over two-thirds of all 16- and 17-year-old students in the United States were employed. The employment rate for students that age in other countries was much lower-37 percent in Canada, 20 percent in Sweden, and less than 2 percent in Japan. These differences are explained partly by the lack of availability of jobs for teenagers in other countries, but also by more demanding school schedules and homework assignments. Although it is often assumed that working helps teenagers develop a sense of responsibility and learn to handle money, the actual pattern of costs and benefits created by employment is a bit more complicated. Discuss the many costs and benefits of adolescent employment. What influence does the type of job and work conditions have in determining whether an adolescent's employment experience is a positive or negative experience? Some state legislatures have passed laws severely limiting the conditions under which adolescents may work during the school year. Do you support or oppose these measures? What kinds of limitations on adolescent employment would you support?
2.Think back to your adolescence and identify the groups and individual people that had the most effect on your sense of identity and self. Using Marcia's identity statuses (Identity Achievement, Moratorium, Identity Foreclosure, and Identity Diffusion), identify which categories you experienced in high school and the order you went through them.