In topic 10 we discussed various problems that adolescents potentially face during their time of “storm and stress”. So many changes are happening to adolescents; their bodies develop, they start thinking differently, begin experimenting sexually, and need to start thinking and preparing for their future. All of this happening simultaneously can cause a large amount of stress and confusion. Often teens become overwhelmed and do not know how to handle these situations. Unfortunately, many teens will develop unhealthy habits or challenges such as drug/alcohol abuse, and/or develop a mental disorder such as anxiety or depression. Luckily, in topic 11 we learned many strategies on how to help students overcome these sort of issues. These two topics work very well together as they have a problem-solution type of relationship. Below I present my ideas on how they are interconnected.

Many problems arise during adolescents since this is a time in their life where they are undergoing so many physical and emotional changes. A female who used to have the “ideal” figure may have begun to develop more mature features and may become dissatisfied with her body image. A male may be experiencing his parents going through a difficult divorce. As part of his coping method, he could start resorting to alcohol or drugs to relieve his pain. He could also fall into a state of depression. All these issues I have mentioned are all hypothetical. While there is plenty of research out there on the percentages of adolescents that will develop these problems, we also need to understand that not everyone does, and even the people that do may develop the problem short term, or over a long period of time. When I hear about all of these problems, I feel as though half of the equation is missing. To me, these negative issues make me question things like “so what?” or “now what?” Resiliency is where the other half of the equation comes in. These are the coping methods on how to deal with various problems that adolescents are facing. It is important to note however that although coping methods are effective, they may not work for every individual. I think it extremely important as teachers to be aware of this and make sure our students are receiving professional help on top of coping strategies. However, it is important to promote healthy positive ways to deal with stress and other issues. Resorting to alcohol to fix your problems will NOT fix your problems. I think it is extremely important to understand the relationship between problems and resiliency because we as teachers have the autonomy to somewhat control both of these situations. Below I will explain how I can influence adolescent development in these two areas and how adolescent development may affect me.

As I mentioned, we as teachers have a lot of autonomy in our classrooms. After all, we are the ones that are controlling the day to day operations. At the beginning of this course I thought to myself, how can I teach all of this content if I am required to teach all of the material in the curriculum for say a math course? Then I realized, a lot of this material is part of the “hidden curriculum”. These are life skills that can be passed on and do not need to follow a specific agenda. An action of one student may influence a teacher to initiate a discussion on a certain topic. While there are health or CALM teachers, we as teachers should not rely on them to cover these topics. It is our duty and responsibility to educate students on how to live a safe and healthy lifestyle and creating an environment where the students feel they can approach you with any concerns they have. I can influence adolescent development by one, having open conversations with the class about problems such as eating disorders, depression, drugs, violence, etc. Often these are very touchy subjects and students may not want to bring up their concerns in front of all of their peers. I could set up an anonymous online forum where students could raise their concerns. I then could answer the questions to the best of my ability and point students in the right direction. I think it is also super important to have various helplines available in my classroom. I could put it on the course syllabus, and also make a poster of it visible in my classroom. I am also a strong advocate for self-regulation. I want to create my classroom to be as welcoming and comfortable as possible. I may choose to designate a corner of my classroom to different materials that students can use when they are feeling stressed. During transition periods, I may incorporate “brain breaks” where students participate in various exercises to get their blood flowing and oxygen back to the brain. At the end of the day, I think the most important thing I need to do as a teacher is create awareness on the outcomes certain problems can create. While I may not be psychologist, I can still provide my students access to different resources, and point them in the direction of a professional who can further help with their needs. Being aware of all the warning signs is extremely important. Noticing absenteeism, lower grades, or change in habits are all things I need to be conscious of. While it may be difficult at first, simply talking to the student is the best way to develop a relationship and offer your support and help.  

I think adolescent development will also influence me since I have a lot to learn about teen/adult interaction. I need to understand that I may not be able to get through to all of my students and I need to accept that. I cannot let student failure be a reflection of my own teaching. I need to however make sure I am recognizing when something is off with a student and that I at least attempt to help them. I think avoiding a problem will make the outcomes worse in the end. I also think I will learn a lot from my students. Each individual is unique and each problem they have will be unique as well. I may need to go out of my way to find different coping strategies to help that child. Even if I have a dozen resources for self-regulation or motivation, I need to understand that not everyone will cope the same way. Teaching is a career of lifelong learning. Often there is no right way of doing something. It is a challenge of trial and error, and as long as we are putting our students’ best interests first, we will can be content with ourselves knowing that we tried our best.

Below are some resources I have accumulated that support adolescent problems and resiliency: