Lack of Interest by Teens in NYC
A Webquest
Ms. Myrthil MS 324
Some teenagers can be passive, uninterested, and uninvolved with community problems
Introduction
You live in a city that many people define as “the greatest city in the world”—New York City. People from all over the world visit and emigrate to the five boroughs. Great cities need the people who live in them to help make and keep those cities great. All cities, no matter how great they are, have problems.
NYC is a major center for fashion, finance, food, technology, law, law enforcement, architecture, education, art, music, theatre, and entertainment. However, many teens don’t get involved in all the city has to offer.
Within the list above, there are opportunities for teens to explore their interests, speak out against injustice, investigate what those industries need to continue to grow, and get connected to organizations that have opportunities for volunteers.
Volunteers are a big part of New York City’s life force, but many teens don’t get involved. In this project, you will research the causes that make teens uninvolved, uninterested, and passive about community issues in our great city, and develop solutions for the New York City Council to consider for possible legislation to address this problem.
Task
Your task is to find out why many teens are uninvolved in various aspects of New York City, uninterested in volunteering, and passive about community issues. Then, your group will
Your group will have to create a PowerPoint presentation or Prezi that helps the New York City Council to enact legislation to address the lack of involvement of teens in our city by proposing policies to address this problem. It is also important for you to include what already has been done to address the problem, as well as feasible and effective solutions you have concerning the problem.
Process
To complete this project, you will complete the six steps of the Public Policy Analyst process. Your PowerPoint / Prezi must include a minimum of 12 slides. The slides must show information you’ve learned in the videos and articles in the section entitled, “Resources.”
Some steps have worksheets attached that you must use to help you organize your research. Make sure you share your Google Docs with me.
1) A cover page: Determine a title for your presentation and include the names of your group members.
2) Identify the Problem: Read the 5 articles and view the video.
o Video: Teens Talk About Stress
o Adolescent Apathy and What Loss of Caring Can Mean
o https://www.livescience.com/7151-study-teens-care.html
o http://theconversation.com/why-binge-watching-is-to-blame-for-kids-not-learning- 51056
o Motivation and the Power of Not Giving Up
○ What do each article and video tell you about disengagement, apathy among teens?
■ Worksheet 1: Define the Problem
3) Evidence: Throughout your research it is essential for you to find proof that that problem exist.
● Worksheet 2: Gather Evidence
4) Identify the Cause: Why are teens apathetic? Why are teens uninterested in getting involved?
● Worksheet 3: Identify the Cause
5) Evaluate Existing Public Policies:
Find policies that already exist regarding apathy among teens. What do these policies say? Who do they benefit? Do they need to be changed?
● https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/volunteering.html
● https://childrensmd.org/browse-by-age-group/teaching-teens-volunteer-importance-community-service/
● Worksheet 4: Evaluate Existing Public Policies
6) Develop a Solution: Come up with a solution that you think will solve or help the problem that exist.
● Worksheet 5: Developing a Solution
7) Feasibility of Solution: Is the proposed solution realistic? Are there any obstacles that can prevent it from working? What can you do to overcome the obstacles?
● Worksheet 6: Selecting the Best Policy
Additional Resources
Evaluation
Conclusion
By the end of this project, you should be able to articulate the reasons why students are apathetic, what adults currently try to address the issue, and possible solutions you have to address the problem of apathy among teens.
Common Core State Standards
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.