America's youth are in crisis. Raised by well-meaning but overprotective parents and coddled by well-meaning but misbegotten government programs, they are ill-equipped to survive in our highly-competitive global economy.
Many of the coming-of-age rituals that have defined the American experience since the Founding: learning the value of working with your hands, leaving home to start a family, becoming economically self-reliant--are being delayed or skipped altogether. The statistics are daunting: 30% of college students drop out after the first year, and only 4 in 10 graduate. One in three 18-to-34 year-olds live with their parents.
From these disparate phenomena: Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse who as president of a Midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the American way of life.
In The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. He identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue: hard work to appreciate the benefits of labor, travel to understand deprivation and want, the power of reading, the importance of nurturing your body--and explains how parents can encourage them.
Our democracy depends on responsible, contributing adults to function properly--without them America falls prey to populist demagogues. A call to arms in the tradition of The Closing of the American Mind and a manifesto for parents in the traditions of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, The Vanishing American Adult will ignite a much-needed debate about the link between the way we're raising our children and the future of our country.
America's youth are in crisis. Raised by well-meaning but overprotective parents and coddled by well-meaning but misbegotten government programs, they are ill-equipped to survive in our highly-competitive global economy.
Many of the coming-of-age rituals that have defined the American experience since the Founding: learning the value of working with your hands, leaving home to start a family, becoming economically self-reliant--are being delayed or skipped altogether. The statistics are daunting: 30% of college students drop out after the first year, and only 4 in 10 graduate. One in three 18-to-34 year-olds live with their parents.
From these disparate phenomena: Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse who as president of a Midwestern college observed the trials of this generation up close, sees an existential threat to the American way of life.
In The Vanishing American Adult, Sasse diagnoses the causes of a generation that can't grow up and offers a path for raising children to become active and engaged citizens. He identifies core formative experiences that all young people should pursue: hard work to appreciate the benefits of labor, travel to understand deprivation and want, the power of reading, the importance of nurturing your body--and explains how parents can encourage them.
Our democracy depends on responsible, contributing adults to function properly--without them America falls prey to populist demagogues. A call to arms in the tradition of The Closing of the American Mind and a manifesto for parents in the traditions of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, The Vanishing American Adult will ignite a much-needed debate about the link between the way we're raising our children and the future of our country.
The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis--and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance
320
The Vanishing American Adult: Our Coming-of-Age Crisis--and How to Rebuild a Culture of Self-Reliance
320Related collections and offers
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781250114402 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | St. Martin's Press |
| Publication date: | 05/16/2017 |
| Pages: | 320 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.40(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d) |