"The only way to be totally free is through education" - Jose Marti
Meta-reflection #2
Topic 10: Challenges
and
Topic 11: Resiliency
Explain how you as a teacher can influence adolescent development in these domains and/or how adolescent development will influence you as a teacher.
I've elected to focus my second meta-reflection on Topic 10: Challenges and Topic 11: Resiliency. Adolescents undergo a number of aggressive stressors and are met with many temptations outlined in Topic 10, as a teacher I feel responsible for identifying risk factors and providing the most supportive environment possible in which to foster resilient teens as described in Topic 11. Through resilience, my students will be able to handle stress in healthy ways, rather than numbing their problems with substance abuse, acts of delinquency, falling into eating disorders, depression, or turning to thoughts of suicide. My investigative research and our class discussions reinforce the findings put forward by McMahon and Thompson (2015) that adolescents are influenced by their environment and at the same time are active contributors to their surroundings. In education, this means that supporting my students to generate resilient characteristics will in turn lead to a more supporting environment of which my students are active members.
Adolescents are influenced by their environment
According to Education Canada, 33.2% of students surveyed stated that “academic difficulties” were the greatest source of stress in their lives (Heath & Shapiro, n.d.). In the role of educator, I have the ability to decrease these stressors by empowering students to reach their academic goals. In EDPY 301, I learned that a big part of reducing environmental stressors encountered in the classroom is using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in creating my curriculum and classroom, differentiating lesson plans to match student learning profiles, readiness, and interests, and providing appropriate scaffolding strategies to aid the students in reaching a level of competence with which to accomplish the intended academic outcomes. Through differentiating instruction I will offer students the opportunity to gain confidence in their abilities through achieving competence in their academic skills. Thus I can start students on the right track to resiliency by leading them to obtaining two of the 7 C’s Identified by Ginsburg (n.d.).
Of course, one cannot look at resiliency alone, the challenges that adolescents face also influence how they develop. Many of the risk factors for delinquency, substance abuse, eating disorders, depression and suicide are external pressures. I recognize that I am not a mental health professional, that being said it is my responsibility as a teacher to identify factors within the school environment that may put my students at an increased risk of succumbing to dangerous habits. This means being on the alert for negative peer behaviour and relationships, learning disabilities, aggression, disruptive behaviour, conduct problems, school misbehaviour, and disconnection from school. How can I influence adolescent development with respect to challenges? By identifying and minimizing the risk factors for problem behaviour and by getting students help from qualified professionals if they need it. I find the information developed by the British Columbia Ministry of Education Special Programs Branch on special education resources to be incredibly helpful, especially their two-volume manual on teaching students with mental health disorders. I plan on implementing their strategies into my future classroom, specifically how to develop coping strategies in students.
Adolescents make an influence on their environment
Evidence of adolescents making an influence on their environment can be found in the earlier mention of negative peer behaviour as a risk factor for influencing problems in teens. The powerful position of being a peer cannot be underestimated. Direct links have been observed between peer pressure and drinking, smoking, and eating disorders (Fletcher, 2011; Simons-Morton & Farhat, 2012; Paxton et. al., 1999). I myself recall in Grade 6 when my teacher notified my parents at a parent-teacher interview that I could make better choices in my social connections. That single comment likely changed who I am today and prevented me from engaging in self-damaging behaviour. I aim to be the same kind of teacher to my students, protecting them from their environment. What’s more, I hope to address those influential peers who are driving poor decision-making and offer them support by developing their resiliency as well.
The influence of adolescents can also be seen in the 7 C’s in the categories of connection and contribution. McMahan & Thompson (2015) state that eudaimonia is a route to happiness in which adolescents contribute to the community in a meaningful way and feel intrinsic joy as a result. In working with community organizations, teens have the opportunity to build positive connections with other peers and with supportive adults. These connections serve to reduce the risk of adolescents engaging in problem behaviour (McMahan & Thompson, 2015). As a teacher I can not only help to develop these positive connections, but I can act as a connection for my students as well. How will adolescent development influence me as a teacher? My students will be an active part of the (hopefully positive) environment that I work in everyday. They will drive me to create opportunities for involvement outside of the classroom, and they will reshape my view of assessment to include not only their grades, but also their environment.
Citations
Fletcher, J. (2011). Peer influences on adolescent alcohol consumption: evidence using an instrumental variables/fixed effect approach. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1784983 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1784983
Ginsburg, K. (n.d.). The 7 C’s: the essential building blocks of resilience. Fostering Resilience. Retrieved from: http://www.fosteringresilience.com/7cs.php
Heath, N., & Shapiro, A. (n.d.) Teen stress in our schools: a 45 minute program to improve coping skills. Education Canada. Retrieved from: http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/teen-stress-our-schools
McMahan, I. & Thompson, S. (2015). Adolescence: Canadian Edition. Toronto: Pearson
Paxton, S. J.; Schutz, H. K.; Wertheim, E. H.; Muir, S. L. (1999). Friendship clique and peer influences on body image concerns, dietary restraint, extreme weight-loss behaviors, and binge eating in adolescent girls. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 108(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.108.2.255
Simons-Morton, B., & Farhat, T (2012). Recent findings on peer group influences on adolescent substance use. Journal of Primary Prevention. 31(4) 191-208.
Additional Resources
Ontario Ministry of Education: Supporting Minds
https://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/SupportingMinds.pdf
A comprehensive guide on promoting student mental health and well-being including how to create a positive classroom environment and the importance of knowing your students.
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development: Teach students how to be a positive influence
A short article detailing the importance of creating an environment of support and community engagement.
Massoni, Erin (2011) "Positive Effects of Extra Curricular Activities on Students," ESSAI: Vol. 9, Article 27
http://dc.cod.edu/essai/vol9/iss1/27
A short paper detailing the importance of extracurricular activities and the positive effects these options have on youth.