RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

All Grown Up and No Place to Go: Book Review

Daniel Abell
Azrieli Graduate School of Education and Administration

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

In his book, All Grown Up and No Place to Go, David Elkind explores the
exceptional challenges todays adolescence experience. With the framework
of adolescent psychology, he highlights the biological, cognitive,
psychological, social, and cultural developments that effect people during
this crucial stage of life. He contends that todays society is producing
many lost adolescents and records the many factors contributing to this
fact. In addition to recording the extensive challenges, he also brings
suggestions as to how we can alleviate these struggles and help assure our
children properly navigate through the complicated time.
Elkind (1998) states that, We are producing too many young people
who may never be productive and responsible citizens, much less lead happy
and rewarding lives (p. xii). He blames this phenomenon on the fact that
we are rushing children to be adults before they are ready to be in that role.
He asserts that teenagers need to make a transition into adulthood and this
generation is not giving them the proper time or outlets to do so. His major
thesis is that in order for adolescents to make this transition, they must
develop a healthy personal identity. This identity can only be accomplished
through the process of differentiation and integration. Children who create
their personal identity based on substitution are developing patch work
identities which leads to much stress and stress related behavior. Elkind
theorizes that todays society has created an environment making the
achievement of a healthy identity extremely difficult.

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

The idea of rushing teens through adolescence and into adulthood is

similar to ideas that we covered in class when discussing the time period of
the Rishonim. We read articles that described adolescence being looked
down upon as a necessary evil in order to get to adulthood. Frenkel (2001)
stated that, The moral literature transmits a negative and dangerous image.
The basis for this image is the assumption that the primary stage of a
person's life is adulthood, while youth constitutes a kind of perversion (p.
269). For this reason there seemed to be a rush to integrate adolescents
into adult life. Kanarfogel (n.d.) supports this idea and states that, Jews
tended to educate their elementary- level students as little adults....He was
introduced to education in order that he might become a scholar, and he was
to emulate the scholar from the start (p. 40). Despite this apparent rush,
Frenkel (2001) records that, In legal rights and issues of personal status and
social prestige the tendency was, on the contrary, to delay and restrict these
rights (p. 268). This indicates that the adolescents were expected to make
the transition into adulthood at a young age, yet were not fully seen as
adults until certain criteria were met. These descriptions illustrate the same
scenario that Elkind portrays in his book. Although Elkind reveals modern
issues that magnify the challenges adolescents face, the main issue of
rushing children remains the same.
Elkind takes the reader through a sort of evolution in society that has
caused a new reality with which the adolescents must live. He points out the
changes in society due to civil rights, womens liberation, the sexual

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

revolution, technology and the breakdown of the nuclear family. This has
forced children to grow up faster and be labeled as sophisticated.
However, despite this sophistication, adolescents are still undergoing major
changes requiring time to work through. Without a safe time to deal with
these changes, it has led to difficulty establishing a healthy self-identity.
Elkind goes on to describe the changes taking place and what must be done
to assure that healthy transitions occur.
Elkind explains that what separates teens from pre-teens is their ability
to think on a higher level, formally known as formal operations stage of
thinking. This higher order of thinking leads to an acquisition of new
intellectual tools that adolescence must learn to use. This new way of
thinking is a challenge often leading to idealism, critical thinking, becoming
argumentative, self-centeredness, inflated self-worth, and indecisiveness. In
addition, adolescents are faced with the challenge of puberty and new
realities then those of their childhood. Throughout the book, Elkind stresses,
despite their difficulties, challenges can be overcome and used to create a
healthy self-identity. It is the job of teachers and parents to act as agents to
assure that children go through these stages by differentiating and
integrating rather than substituting in order that a healthy identity is created
(Elkind, 1998).
Further, Elkind blames schools for adding to teenage struggles. He
points out that schools are outdated and do not address the issues of the
postmodern world. Elkind (1998) bemoans how schools are, Focused upon

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

the academic aspects of education and ignored all of the social changes that
have occurred in the family and the perceptions of children and adolescence
(p. 164). He further criticizes the large number of students in classrooms as
well as the outdated curriculums. Additionally, there is a lack of properly
trained professional teachers knowledgeable about their students needs.
This has created more stress on adolescents as well as hindering their ability
to develop a healthy identity.
Despite the bleak reality that Elkins portrays, he suggests avenues to
successfully navigate through this difficult web of adolescence. He stresses
how the world must come to grips with the new reality and not live in the
past. Elkind (1998) suggests that:
While we cannot, as individuals, alter the course of social events in the
larger world, we can influence the events in our own miniature worlds
at home, school, and community. In these circumscribed worlds, we
have to look at ways of helping adolescents cope effectively with the
negative stressors of postmodern life. (p. 241)
He advises that we do this by helping young people attain a differentiated
sense of self and identity by reducing some of the stressors they face. Elkind
(1998) asserts it is essential for both parents and educators to, Know about
child growth and development and decentering from our own point of view
(p. 242). He also stresses the importance of parents acting as adults, and
setting limits as well as teaching manners and morals to their children. They

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

also need to learn how to properly argue and focus their arguments on
principles rather than emotions. Finally, parents need to have a mutual
relationship with their children, giving space for the children to be involved in
the decision making process.
Elkind also presents solutions for schools to help students successfully
mature into healthy adults. He challenges schools to become up to date and
recognize the reality of the postmodern world, suggesting that teachers
become more professional and incorporate child development into their
studies. Teachers also need to understand the stressors students are facing
and create techniques to alleviate this stress. Most importantly, schools
need to create an environment allowing self-growth and natural discovery of
self-identity. This can be accomplished through smaller classrooms or
creating opportunities for students to have mentors. It is also important for
teachers to feel appreciated and receive proper support from the school
administration.
It seems Elkins findings are both insightful and accurate. His clarity
has allowed me to understand the enormous challenges teenagers face. I
believe his suggestions for schools can and must be implemented in every
high school. Most importantly, we must find ways to help teenagers develop
their inner identity, which is so crucial to their success. I believe that this
can be accomplished by incorporating more Chassidut based teachings in the
classroom. The Torah of Chassidut is filled with ideas of finding the inner
light within a person and revealing ones uniqueness. If taught properly,

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

students can develop tools to help differentiate and integrate all the
struggles they encounter.

Furthermore, it is important to have

opportunities for high school students to interact with good role models. I
believe this can be accomplished by bringing in post Israel students to
informally teach in schools. Finally, it is vital that we create healthy outlets
for our students, providing space for them to figure themselves out. I believe
this can successfully be accomplished through properly run teen minyanim
as well as youth groups.
Elkinds observations also have an impact on school curriculum. Elkind
(1998) suggests that, Religious programs for youth should be more social or
intellectual than Bible studiesduring this period, parents and youth ministry
should move away from religious instruction and use the time instead to
better define themselves (p. 52).

His remarks attack the traditional

format and calls for reform. I do not agree that schools should abandon
Talmud and Bible study, however, I do believe we can restructure these
topics to be more appealing to todays teens. I would suggest making
Talmud classes more alluring by connecting it to everyday life and moral
issues. If the teacher can create an atmosphere for students to voice their
opinions, and then present the Torah perspective on these issues, it will
assist students through their religious journey and self-discovery.

Only once

a teacher understands the challenges students are experiencing can they

address them within the classroom. When students present issues with which
they are struggling the teacher can then explore the issue with them and

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

offer insights into how one might deal with it. Although this may divert from
the traditional learning style, I believe this is necessary in order to properly
equip our students to overcome the challenges they face.
As teachers it is imperative we understand our students and their
struggles. Elkinds book is a passageway into the lives and challenges of
todays teenagers. It is an insightful and eye opening book which is both
relevant and practical. It allows for a greater depth in our understanding of
our students which will better prepare us to teach them. For this reason I
think that All Grown Up and Nowhere to Go is a must read for all educators.
This is especially true in Azrieli where we are beginning to formulate our
educational philosophies and foundations for our teaching careers. By
reading this book teachers will become better prepared to help their students
to grow up and give them a place to go.

RUNNING HEAD: All Grown Up and No Place to Go Book Review

Reference
David, E. (1998). All Grown Up and No Place to Go: Teenagers in Crisis
(Rev. Ed.). Reading, Mass.: Perseus Books (Addison-Wesley).
Ephraim, K. (n.d.). Attitudes Toward Childhood and the Educational
Process. Jewish Education and Society in the High Middle Ages (p. 4). Detroit:
Wayne State University Press.
Frenkel, M. (2001). Adolescence in Jewish medieval society under
Islam. Continuity and Change, 16(2), 263-281. Doi:
10.1017/S0268416003836.