In chapter 8, author Lisa Fiore detailed a range of information regarding Adolescence. She managed the fairly complex topic by breaking down material into several mini-categories. These include (but are not limited to) physical developments, cognitive developments, identity, and social development. This chapter presented a wealth of information that is valuable to me as a future teacher of middle and high school students.
First, what is adolescence? The author lays out several key qualities on page 186. Some that stuck out to me include: a time in life marked by transitions, dating, interest in sex, and finding out who you really are. Adolescence isn’t the same for any two people, and the number of experiences that can shape it are innumerable.
Physical developments play a major role in adolescence. Fiore discusses this on pages 187-190 of Lifesmart. A major physical development begins with puberty. Puberty is recognized by changes in hormone levels and a general hormone balance. Noticeable growth comes in both the skeletal and genital regions.
Another physical development can be described as the secular trend. On pages 189-190, Fiore notes, “The average age of menarche (female’s first menstruation) declined about 3 months per decade over the past 100 years” (Fiore 189-190). This means that girls are experiencing menstruation at increasingly younger ages.
No discussion about adolescence would be complete without mentioning body image and eating disorders. Sadly, I’m able to see the effects of this in many of my high school students. On page 190, Fiore details several common disorders:
1. Adolescents are preoccupied with their bodies and judging themselves against others.
2. “Eating disorders are the third most common chronic condition among adolescents” (190)
3. Anorexia Nervosa - A syndrome of self-starvation that mainly affects adolescent and young adult females. (190)
4. Bulimia nervosa - A disorder related to anorexia nervosa and sometimes occurs with it. Characterized by binge eating followed by purging to prevent weight gain.
Cognitive developments also play a major role in development during adolescence. On pages 191-193, Fiore describes several critical aspects of maturation:
A. Ability to reach Piaget’s 4th level - Abstract thought (191)
B. Emotions and Brain Development (192)
1. Connections between neurons develop more rapidly during adolescence.
2. When connections are made, information can be transformed into more sophisticated understandings.
C. Adolescent Egocentrism (192)
1. Adolescents tendency to exaggerate the importance, uniqueness, and severity of their social and emotional experiences.
D. Information Processing (193)
1. Executive functioning - Efforts aimed at allocating attention, cognitive resources that can impact physical and emotional resources, and critical thinking strategies.
E. Critical Thinking (193)
1. Convergent thinking - used when we solve a problem by following a series of steps that close in on the correct answer.
2. Divergent thinking - Used when a problem to be solved has many possible answers.
No chapter would be complete without some mention of our theorists! The following three theorists contributed greatly to our understanding of development during adolescence.
A. Erikson
1. Termed “identity crisis” to capture essence of confusion a person feels when she experiences discomfort about herself.
2. For example, a student becomes popular at school by behaving in a way that contradicts her personal values.
B. Marica
1. Stressed two vital factors in the attainment of a mature identity: crisis and commitment.
C. Hill
1. Biological factors are central because they are present at birth
2. Psychological and social factors also begin after birth
Finally, the author distinguishes between the importance of family and peers, and the effects on adolescent social development.
A. Family (195)
1. Although mothers today spend more time in the workplace than in previous decades, they spend as much time interacting with their children as mothers did decades ago.
B. Peers (195-6)
1. Very important during adolescence
2. Clique - group of close friends who share similar interests and activities
3. Crowd - Larger, reputation based group whose members may or may not spend time together.
This wealth of information will be crucial in understanding difficulties that my future students will face. Whether I teach middle or high school, students will be at different points in their adolescent development. Many of the trends and qualities discussed above factor into the day-to-day abilities and actions of our students. It is important to remember that many students behave in certain ways because of things that are happening in their personal lives. Teachers need to be aware of problems and situations students have overcome, even before starting the school day.
Phil, I loved your blog this week. It was the perfect synopsis to this weeks reading. I also agree that students behave the way they do based on their personal lives. I believe that teaching should begin at home with their parents or guardians. But at the same time sometimes it is those parents and guardians that teach their children their fears, their prejudices, their views on the religions that makes adolescence that much harder. And their views or the real world and reality can become problematic.
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