Adolescent Development

 This picture of a confused-looking child attempting to wrap a present is how I often feel about 'finishing' things in my life.  We can learn an extraordinary amount in a short space of time, bundle the theories and research up and export it into an exam or assignment.  Often it arrives neat and presentable, sometimes the tape doesn’t stick properly and parts fall out… But of course the reason most of us took this Adolescent Development paper is the practical learnings.  Hopefully we can have a positive impact in our communities using the knowledge we’ve accrued in the last three months.  If there is one thing that’s been embedded into me by this course it’s the pivotal nature of adolescence and how supporting a single individual can make a tangible difference to the rest of their life.

Aside from a personal Facebook account, Tumblr was my first foray into social media.  I enjoyed the intimacy that can be created between followers and the immediate sharing of ideas so a common or controversial idea can quickly gain momentum online.  This phenomenon in itself is interesting to watch, and the concerns around privacy are justified.  Remembering that anything posted online can potentially be read by anyone, choosing personal examples to support research that I felt comfortable publically sharing was important and took quite a bit of thought.  My technology skills were definitely stretched! 

I enjoyed the cumulative nature of Tumblr.   The ability to scroll through earlier posts when I was unsure of how I’d be able to participate in the project with screen-reading software make me feel like I’ve developed in some areas :) It's been very different from any other assignment I've done and similarly to other students it's a bit scary for a peer to be marking a big part of our overall mark and it might have been helpful to get some halfway feedback, but I understand the class size can make this tricky.

I found Cat’s weekly tips and posting ideas helpful.  The freedom to post things that interested us individually, then watch, listen, and read a range of popular and academic resources was great.  Course content was interesting and it has been awesome following all the ideas and discussions of the whole group…I do agree with the thoughts to split the class, maybe into two which may make ideas easier to follow and to build rapport with student bloggers (sloggers?).   I’ve found it particularly interesting to be posting with the 2014 NZ General Election happening in the background.  It’s certainly made me realise the power young people can and should have on society.

American author Richard Ford said “My job is to have empathy and curiosity for things I’ve never done.”  Adolescents come from all sorts of backgrounds and I hope I continue to be empathetic and curious forever. All the best 275.208, arohanui :)

Tim Minchin, the former UWA arts student described as "sublimely talented, witty, smart and unabashedly offensive" in a musical career that has taken the wor...

Tim Minchin receiving an honorary doctorate of letters from the University of Western Australia.  He's hilarious and has metaphors for many life lessons for late adolescents who are about to graduate. He reminds us of nine life lessons which I've summed up (and slightly censored).

1.       You don’t have to have a dream, pursue short-term goals with vigour.

2.       Don’t seek happiness.

3.       You’re lucky.

4.       Exercise.

5.       Be hard on your opinions, constantly and thoroughly examine them.

6.       Be a teacher.

7.       Define yourself by what you love.

8.       Respect people with less power than you.

Two models of teaching and learning are compared: Directed Instruction which emphasizes individualization and Constructivist which is more cooperative.

As part of my resource project I investigated the Central Regional Health School (CRHS) which is based in Wellington.  Part of the service is for adolescent with acute mental health needs.  This link refers to the Rangatahi Inpatient service where teens can access educational opportunities in a safe environment with specialist care.  Having different levels of care such as in Bronfenbrenner's Ecological Systems Model helps adolescents who are struggling with their mental health. 

In the microsystem are people directly linked to the individual - peers who are seen day-to-day, family, teachers.  The meosystem layer is how the microsystems interact (parents treatment of the teen vs teacher treatment).  If there is consistency in what behaviour is endorsed and what is taught to be inappropriate the development of the individual is less stressful, leading to fewer mental health issues.  The exosystem includes influences on the individual that aren't face-to-face...a classic is the school Board of Trustees.  That example is useful here too as the Board's decisions have an impact on the education and support and teaching someone in the Rangatahi Unit is offered. 

Resilience skills can be learned. Teens can benefit from ten APA Help Center resilience tips.

Some great tips for adolescence to understand and help themselves achieve a more resilient lifestyle. Resilience aides moral decision making, problem solving and recovering from setbacks of all kinds.

We only use 10% of our brain. We evolved from chimps. Dairy foods increase mucous. Pfffff! These and 45 other myths & misconceptions debunked. Solidly.

I had the pleasure of meeting Same a couple of weeks ago.  He's 16, in the middle of his adolescence and figuring out his identity as a skier, student and young person.  This article is about an Outward Bound experience he and other teenagers who live with a disability will attend with the goal of honing leadership skills. Outward Bound in itself is an great organisation helping develop young (and not so young) people from all over New Zealand through experiencing the outdoors.

Erikson's psychosocial crisis of identity vs identity confusion during adolescence is the fifth stage of development (Santrock, 2010).  Individuals question their reasons for being, who they want to become and how they can face situations they're in.  Outward Bound will give Sam and his group many activities to work on as a team as well as solitary time.  They will be given time to think through possible selves, leadership opportunities and desires by themselves as well as talk to others who have a disability.  

Mini documentary about a family of mother, father and triplet boys aged 13.  Steve Evans (dad) was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) seven years ago.   The mini documentary covers family dynamics and how MND has had a large impact on all aspects of family life as the boys become adolescents.