Text Book Reflections: How do adolescents develop?

Being a teenager is hard! Young people get a bad reputation for being dramatic and awkward and rebellious but is it entirely their fault? They are moving through a physical, emotional and psychological development that is dizzying to even think about! They are uncomfortable, confused and sometimes starting to smell funny and they don’t always know why. It helps them to read things at their developmental level, not too mature or abstract if they are not ready.

                Something we often take for granted when talking to and teaching children is that they all have the same resources and opportunities in their lives. Where I work, low socioeconomic status is the norm and not the exception. Some children don’t have the fundamental things that humans require for success. How can I expect this child to do homework when they don’t have a permanent home? Sometimes instead of asking why a child didn’t write the essay, ask why the child wears the same shirt 4 days a week. Knowing and using your school resources is necessary to help even the playing ground for many kids.

                These kids are trying to do homework, play sports, dance, play chess, study astronomy, make friends, be good looking, act cool and be successful all at the same time. All the while we are asking them questions like: What do you want to BE when you grow up? What is your plan for your future? What are you passionate about? These are big questions for developing minds and most kids just don’t know the answers yet. They are learning so much about who they are and what they want to do in each situation they are handed, so they just haven’t gotten to the “big” ideas yet. That is ok!

                We have to look, really look, at these kids and choose literature for them that speaks to them in some way. Find a protagonist that reminds you of a student. Find a setting similar to your school’s setting. Find misunderstood antagonist that reminds you of a kid picking on your reader. Make connections with the kids so that you can help them make connections to the literature. 

Teen brain image borrowed from: https://www.movingtraditions.org/teen-brain-still-construction/