Ephebiphobia - fear of young people

Summary of Guardian Article (http://www.theguardian.com/education/2009/mar/17/ephebiphobia-young-people-mosquito)
Throughout history young people have been represented to be 'disrespectful of their elders' ' have no self-control' 'decaying morals' 'inflamed with wild notions' 'impatient of all restraint' 'immodest and selfish'. This overall representation of youth is that they are to be feared, therefore leading to ephebiphobia- the fear of young people. Psychologist and TV presenter Tanya Byron says that children are being so easily labelled as troublemakers or failures because, as a society, we often fail to se their potential. This distorted perception self fulfilling prophecy: why bother to try when you are told you are a failure? They are made to feel worthless and so they become destructive, making them incredibly vulnerable.



This has created a block to many young people who want to make something of their lives. They are blocked by an education system that narrows the very definition of acheivement because it is built around testing and targets. Systems are only elitest and have narrowly defined definitions of academic competence. From this the adult world has created a learning envrionment in which those who misbehave are struggling, causing us to label them from an early age. Schools need more input from child development specialists, to try and reduce the pressure on staff and students.

This will also aid the misdiagnosed children with sensory integration difficulties as having ADHD. Children labelled as failures in primary and secondary school have no hope of higher education given the limited and mostly elitist way we asses their abilities. A small minority are causing the vast majority to be unfailry and cruelly judged. We are an ephebiphobic society and we should be ashamed of ourselves.

I have been researching this area and found an article which supports this theory http://www.theguardian.com/media/2004/oct/12/pressandpublishing.broadcasting
and an example of an article which shows the youth represented as a force to be feared (whilst covering the London Riots)
http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/aug/09/london-riots-kids-parents-police