Saturday, April 2, 2011

Book Reading #40: Coming of Age in Samoa

Chapter 14

Summary:

The Samoan adolescents had one of two choices. They were able to stay in the villages and take on a traditional education much as their ancestors had done for generations. The second choice they had was that of going over to the schools in American Samoa and take a more modern Western education.

The author debates about the benefits and the downfalls of the Western adolescent's options in life and discusses what she felt was the prospects for those youths. This led to a further discussion of the relative way in which adolescents are treated and surmises what might be the case in the future.

Discussion:

I think that the accessibility to modern education for the youth's of Samoa was a wonderful addition. While there are still many cultures steeped in the traditions of their fathers, much in the world is geared towards progress. It is unclear how far this process will continue, but if unchecked, it is possible that our species will become a multi-planet species and will begin to stretch out into the cosmos. If this happens, what will become of current indigenous populations? Will they manage to hang on to their traditions or will they assimilate into other cultures that are embracing this forward progress?

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