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/
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