An article written by Donna Marie San Antonio and published in the April 2006 Educational Leadership discusses the interplay of characteristics that define the adolescent learners. Described by the author as a “period not only of turmoil, but of tremendous resilience, productivity, cognitive growth, generosity, and increasing involvement, adolescence is indeed a developmental stage in the life of the learner that never fails to awe parents and teachers alike.
The author gathered several developmental philosophies to validate these complex personalities. One of these is the principle of “cumulation of stress” which was described to be the result of the sudden changes in the physical, emotional, and social life of the youngsters. It disrupts the balance and stability of childhood when the adolescents start to experience being uncomfortable with their bodily changes, social adjustments with adults and peers, etc.
Another principle that delineates adolescence adjustment is the Freudian ideology of short-term stress that allows the individual to learn from it. These awkwardness and discomfort are actually learning experiences in themselves that may warrant the establishment and development of cognitive, social, and interpersonal skills.
I can see three important points in this article that I wish to express my own opinion on. First, the author puts forth the notion that “the passage to middle school is an opportunity for exposure to diversity at a time when students are developmentally ready for more reciprocity in their peer relationships and a wider social range:. I believe this is true. The challenge and the burden therefore lie on the hands of the middle education teachers to provide meaningful learning experiences that suit the demand of the adolescents’ need for social acceptance and academic achievement. I just realized after learning more about middle education that this stage of life of the youngster needs more emotional and interpersonal support than mere academic endeavor. This is where the teacher becomes a crucial key player in the lives of the youngsters.
Furthermore, the author expresses her belief that the “most significant stress in a young adolescent’s life is the sense of not fitting in”. This is a highly complicated issue of students’ desire to be accepted yet the developmental changes that they undergo make it very difficult for them to manage to fit in. Since the adolescents may want to exercise self-fulfillment and social confidence, the critical conditions of the social environment and peer pressure hinder them from fully achieving these social and emotional goals in their lives. The educators though, can help by creating an environment of respect, acceptance, and tolerance to the level acceptable to the society and to the developing minds.
Lastly, the author ultimately believes that “we teachers cannot accomplish our academic goals without a purposeful and thoughtful focus on social development”. I think social development is the teachers’ ultimate watchword. Most middle education teachers fail to see the priority based on the developmental character of the young adolescents. For me, the teachers should consider more the developmental aspects of their students, along with academics, at this point of their students’ lives. It is the demands of education that allows the educators to miss the point of the middle education passage---a passage through a very crucial, interesting, challenging and complicated adolescent stage of life. Nobody can argue, since we all went through such developmental stage ourselves.*
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