Archived: The Educational System in the United States: Case Study Findings

Leisure Time
Other casual leisure pursuits among adolescents include socializing with friends;
physical activities, such as basketball, biking, and rollerblading; watching tele-
vision, listening to music; and computer time. Television is omnipresent, with
nearly all students mentioning it among their regular activities. Some described a
routine of daily viewing, either immediately after school or after dinner, while
some families reported regular television viewing during the family dinner. In
some households, the television is a constant, left on throughout the evening, a
problem noted particularly by students in small apartments or crowded homes,
who must do homework in this environment. Others are regular viewers; one stu-
dent commented: ‘‘On a good night I watch 3 or 4 hours a night [and he names
each of the shows by night of the week]; on a bad night maybe 1 to 2 hours.’’
Another stated that:
I mostly watch sports. I may watch a movie on the weekend, but usually dur-
ing the week I don’t have time to watch television, other than sports or some-
times a sitcom. My big television night is Friday. It’s the end of the week and
I like to unwind. (Tenth-grader, Hamilton)
A substantial number of students, however, described fairly disciplined habits that
included restricting their viewing to one night of favorite shows or taping for later
viewing. Even as early as the eighth grade a student reported that ‘‘I tape my
shows because I am so paranoid about my time for studying.’’ In some cases,

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these patterns are regulated by parents, who have set restricted days and hours
for television viewing. As one junior high student described it:
I used to watch a lot of TV in grade school. Then my mom and I started talk-
ing about my junior high and high school and how I can’t be doing that any-
more, because we have tons of homework. I probably watch about an hour
and a half during dinner. We might watch a show everybody likes.
A parent of an eighth-grade daughter described her family’s approach to television:
TV is present in my home, and it tries to play more of a role than I care for
it to, and they’re not always monitored . . . . She tends not to be into watch-
ing educational programming, so it’s always recreational entertainment. Usually
we can’t look at television until Thursday evening . . . . Depends on how
well the rooms look and how much work you’ve gotten done, but generally
we’re striving to keep it limited.
Student descriptions of computer use, mentioned most frequently by early adoles-
cent males, ranged from playing video games to browsing on the Internet to pro-
gramming or ‘‘hacking.’’ A number of students play musical instruments and must
work both lesson and practice time into their week. Musical interests are eclectic,
representing the range currently available to teenagers. Some students mentioned
listening to rap, some to rock or alternative music, and a few to classical. Some
were devoted to particular styles and some devoted simply to listening to music.
As one high school junior said: ‘‘Music is a huge part of my life. I leave my stereo
going 24 hours a day. It is probably going right now. There is always music.’’
Many regularly rent videos and some are attracted to a particular genre, such as
horror films or comedy. Recreational reading was seldom mentioned. When stu-
dents were asked about reading during their leisure time, they most often men-
tioned horror books, science fiction, fantasy, and comic books, along with adoles-
cent magazines. One student said he read ‘‘movie books, like ones they made into
a movie.’’ A college-bound senior, asked about books and magazines, said:
Books—I read what is assigned in school. Books take a long time and you can
read only a couple of pages at a time. They go too slow for me. I read 
News-
week 
and parts of the paper . . . . Light stuff, not world news.
Recreational sports were most commonly mentioned as a leisure activity by males.
In low-income areas, in particular, many described a daily routine that included
local basketball with their friends. This activity also is of importance to some ado-
lescents as a potential, however unlikely, career goal. A parent at a high school
in an extremely low-income neighborhood commented that:
Basketball is what these kids like and grow up with. Not many kids love to
do school work, but they love sports. The parents encourage them to be in

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sports, because they can make millions of dollars a year. It’s a ticket out of
here, out of the ghetto. And they have more faith in sports getting them out
of the ghetto than academics.
Weekends seem to provide the least structured aspects of a students’ week, with
time to sleep late and to relax. Students also spoke of family time, religious serv-
ices, and special academic programs attended on Saturdays. Leisure pursuits dur-
ing the weekend most commonly include shopping, seeing movies, and socializing
with friends. As one student described his weekend:
I go to baseball practice, then go home, relax there, then I might call my
friends and see what they are doing. We might go to the park or go into town.
Sometimes we might go to a movie. Sundays are my relaxing day. I don’t do
much of anything. I might go to the library and study or I might talk to some-
one on the phone. But Sunday is usually my day to catch up on homework
that I didn’t do, watch sports, sleep, and get ready for the week basically.
(Tenth-grader, Hamilton)
A female described a similar pattern:
I used to be a part of this dance troupe, but now I am taking a break. I usually
catch up on movie videos, catch up on homework, hang out with my friends
at the mall, or just hang out at home. (As for Sundays), well, my mom used
to be religious, but then she joined the health club and she has been there
every Sunday morning, (so) that is her religion now . . . . I do on Sunday
what I do on Saturday, except that I procrastinate really badly, and Sunday is
my catch-up-on-homework day. (Ninth-grader, Hamilton)
Another, who spends most weekends with her grandmother, said:
On Sundays I eat a big breakfast and dinner. My grandmother loves to cook.
We go to church together. I am in the choir there and a lot of my friends
from elementary school go there. When I am with my mom, I sleep on Sun-
day. (Ninth-grade female, Uptown)