Adolescence

The instructions for this posting are to briefly summarise my experience of the project, any reflections, whether I have found it to be of value.

To be completely honest, and in the hope that this will bear NO reflection on any mark given, I have found this project to be a distraction from learning what is in the text, and it has helped de-motivate me quite a bit from the paper. I resented it being a mandatory component of the paper and at a whopping 40% of the grade, and I am in an age-group which doesn't use too much social media, or want to be a part of it. 

I feel that the fact that this is a large part of the paper and it is mandatory should have been stated in the paper definitions/requirements which appear on-line via Massey when one is deciding which papers to enrol in. Had this been the case, I think it likely I would not have enrolled in the paper. I chose to give it a go and see, but by the time I decided it was something that I wasn't comfortable with, for several reasons, it was too late to choose another paper to enrol in, and so I have stuck with it.

I wonder whether the mandatoriness of keeping this blog is a short-sighted  perception that most of the students are either still adolescents, or very young adults. It does not seem to take into account the needs/computer skills of older students in relation to social media, and I felt the responses to legitimate concerns about security etc were not adequately addressed, which for me is an ethics issue. 

I am also not too convinced by the peer assessment component of what is worth up to 40% of my grade. This is a very subjective way of assessing someone, and I don't think it has a place for this amount of the paper. I believe quite a few would be nervous about this system.

We have all heard the famous saying ‘strong essences come in small bottles’ or ‘great things come in small packages.’ Well, today I have ten small packages that I want to ‘deliver’ to you:

Teenagers say their parents often don't realize how overwhelmed they feel about school. Psychologists say parents can help children manage their expectations and live a more balanced life, even if it means not racking up as high a GPA as their friends.

Peers Influence Teens to Take Risks By Activating Reward Circuitry

I attended an all-girl high school as a teenager. I was popular and had a lot of friends. Outside of school I had different friends, mainly through my music interest. I have alwasy been a leader rather than a follower, and my parents had instilled a strong "Be true to yourself" principle in me, which I follow to this day. I was never one to go along with peers just because everyone was doing something. And I don't recall being made to suffer for resisting some risky behaviour such as drinking or smoking pot. Rather, I recall being respected for having the strength of my personal convictions. Maybe that was because I was liked by most of the people my age that I knew.

I wasn't allowed a boyfriend till I was 16, and I had one soon after! We remained attached for 2 years, during which time we spent as much time as we could together and talking on the phone when we weren't together. I felt my emotions intensely as a teenager, and I recall a lot of jealousy if he spent time talking to other girls or such. He was in the First 15 and I proudly cheered every weekend from the sideline. I enjoyed being a "couple". I left school at the end of 6th Form (year 12) and he chose to continue for 7th form (Year 13). I went straight into fulltime work in a Govt department, which exposed me to many other people, and gradually this took a toll on our relationship because I began to have different interests and values than he. I ended the relationship to go out with someone else who was older, and he told me years later I broke his heart.

Teen Pregnancy Support, Real Life Stories, Chat, Blog, Talk with others. Pregnancy Symptoms and date calculator. Unplanned Pregnancy Information and support, Abortion Information and Support.

Teenagers need their parents for love, support and guidance – although it might not always seem like it. Here’s how to strengthen bonds with your teen.

The author and television personality criticised the 'third-world' mental health system available to teenagers, adding that children these days grow up in a 'risk-averse culture'.

I grew up in a busy household with both parents and 4 siblings. As a teenager, I had a sister only 11 mths younger and a brother only 18 mths after her, so by the time I was 16, my parents had 3 teenagers in the house, and two pubertal adolescents following behind those. I remember those years as being busy, with Mum and Dad often having friends over on the weekends for barbeques in summer or dinner in winter. Dad would always get the guitar out and we would all end up singing. When that wasn't happening, we were practising the songs we were going to sing that week at the country music club, doing homework, often having our own friends over. It was a house where everyone was welcome and the door was always open. We were encouraged to care about people, respect our elders, be helpful. As the eldest, I had a certain sense of innate responsibility and was considered bossy by my siblings. I was relied upon to help look after my younger siblings and had three jobs - a paper round, a part-time job in the local corner dairy, and a regular baby-sitting job for a couple who were family friends. I knew, probably from parental role-modeling, as well as being told, that if I wanted to get ahead in life, I had to work hard. I was also encouraged to have my dreams.

Teen.com

Helping Children Stand Up for Principles

MORALITY issues.

As a parent of two adolescents, and a student of psychology, I find this particular site helpful on both levels. In this article, parents receive helpful guidance as to how to help our teens make the choices that are right on a moral level. I think I've done the best I can to empower my sons to do the right thing.

I only have two so far: Wicked Games by The Weeknd Gorilla by Bruno Mars Any suggestions? ...It's...uh...for a school project.

Nine secondary schools will pilot ACC's new sexual and dating violence prevention programme.