Having a thirteen year old at home, I paid close attention to the topic of adolescence. I do not miss those days. I remember those years quite vividly as the most exciting and terrible all at the same time. I often compare my teenager to what I was like at his age. I now know that is the worst thing I could do. In the radio interview, on the Secret Lives of Boys, Malina Saval explained that it is wrong to compare your own adolescent experience with your child's because the times have changed. I never thought of it like that. That being said though, I still feel that the aspects of development will remain the same. The interview also said something that caught my attention. That is that the problem is not with teenagers accepting themselves as much as it is as parents or other adults accepting the teenager. I can remember thinking when I was thirteen that no one could possibly understand what my life is like. When you think no one understands, you are less likely to open up. I don't think girls are so much different than boys. I think boys and girls fall into a trap of gender roles that society has created for us. Deep down I think we have the same emotions, but the expression is a direct result of the environment we are nurtured in. Saval talked about how boys had a great deal of "empathetic and loyalty emotions". I can agree with that. I definitely see that in my boys, and in my daughter it is just a different type of empathy, with not a lot of loyalty. However, I know that in my experience, I had issues with my mother as a teenager, but now I don't know of anyone else I'd rather be around.
The radio program about sleep was also interesting to me. Before these chapters I had not heard about needing extra sleep as a part of adolescence. I remember as a teenager sleeping till noon on weekends and staying up as late as I could manage on the weekends. I always thought it was a control thing with me. Even as a young adult I wanted to stay up late only because I could. I do notice my son staying up later and wanting to sleep most of the day away. I now know ways to get a handle on the sleep issue. I thought it was just laziness or summer fever. The idea about extra light is great. My sons bedroom is in the basement and it is very dark down there, I think adding some artificial sun is a great idea. I doubt he will think so. Education really is power in this sense.
In chapter 9, the information about adolescent pregnancy was astonishing to me. I never realized how prevalent this was. I know when I was in high school, young mothers were judged harshly and rarely were the fathers victims of such harsh judgement. I found that to be very wrong and often felt sorry for young mothers. Especially for those who are merely victims of their own circumstances. I especially liked the following quote, "not every adolescent female who bears a child lives a life of poverty and low achievement...although adolescent pregnancy is a high-risk circumstance and adolescents who do not become pregnant generally fare better than those who do, some adolescent mothers do well in school and have positive outcomes." Too often, teenage mothers are judged poorly and this quote puts in perspective that this situation can happen to anyone.
One thing that did not come as a surprise to me was the leading cause of deaths for adolescence, accidents. It was surprising that suicide accounts for six percent of the deaths in the 10-14 age group and 12 percent of deaths in the 15-19 age group. Suicide is not something you hear a lot about in these age groups.
A related issue that was and still is a constant battle in my life is depression. As an adolescent, I had no idea how consuming it was. However, as it has followed me to adulthood I am very aware of the affects it can have. I personally feel that if as a teenager you are not able to communicate with your parents or other adults, or even a close friend..depression can be inevitable. I think for so many the "secrets" that we carry around can overcome us and lead us on the dark path of depression. I know for me, I will do whatever it takes to not have my children suffer from such a disabling condition.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Reflection of Chapters 7 and 8: Learning Plan 8 Blog
For this blog assignment I read a very interesting article about Intelligence Testing. You can find the article at the following link:
http://www.ntc.edu:2101/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=30537124&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live
The article was entitled "What Do IQ Tests Measure? Not Intelligence"
It was interesting to me, because I never thought about how the current IQ tests were developed nor did I question what the results implied. According to the article, IQ tests are geared at testing brain functions we consider important to develop in Western Industrialized Society. The tests neglects to assess the wide variety of other areas of the brain. The article also explains that there is a 15-point discrepancy between white and African American test takers. This is true because of a lack of role models committed to education among the African American inner-city ghettos. The following quote from the article wraps up the whole essence of the article: "If these tests were properly named, they would be called Tests That Predict Success or Failure in the School System From Which the Questions Have Been Derived. Nothing would be said about the relationship between scores on these tests and intelligence--whatever that means".
I found chapters 7 & 8 filled with a lot of information that I found very useful. This class is an excellent opportunity for a parent such as myself. I find I am learning more about my children and myself as a parent than I ever thought I would. I enjoyed the extra research opportunities I had the last couple of weeks, with learning about whether or not my children should do chores and also learning about measuring critical thinking skills. You really do not think about all the critical thinking that is involved in a persons day. It is amazing, especially when you are looking at through a child's eyes.
The section about Moral Development was also quite fascinating to me. It was a new concept for me. "Kohlberg believed that peer interaction is a critical part of the social stimulation that challenges children to change their moral reasoning. Whereas adults characteristically impose rules and regulations on children, the give-and-take among peers gives children an opportunity to take the perspective of another person and to generate rules democratically." It never occurred to me before reading this that moral reasoning was such a huge thing for a child to conquer.
Also, the section on families caught my interest as well. I am a stepparent and whenever I can learn more about that special dynamic I will. It is a complicated dynamic, I have been a stepmother for a little over 12 years now. It amazes me to see how our relationship shifts and changes so often and quickly. It is something I have to work on daily and be extra sensitive about.
The section on peers was also interesting to me. I never understand the world of peers when I was in school. I was always the shy kid who kept to themselves. It is interesting to see the dynamics from a different perspective now that I am an adult and do not have the same fears I did then. Also, I now try to analyze my children and guess what peer status group they would be classified in. Knowledge can be so much fun.
Making our own quiz this week was such a good review for me, it forced me to delve into my book and try to figure out the key ideas of the chapters.
http://www.ntc.edu:2101/login.aspx?direct=true&db=n5h&AN=30537124&loginpage=Login.asp&site=ehost-live
The article was entitled "What Do IQ Tests Measure? Not Intelligence"
It was interesting to me, because I never thought about how the current IQ tests were developed nor did I question what the results implied. According to the article, IQ tests are geared at testing brain functions we consider important to develop in Western Industrialized Society. The tests neglects to assess the wide variety of other areas of the brain. The article also explains that there is a 15-point discrepancy between white and African American test takers. This is true because of a lack of role models committed to education among the African American inner-city ghettos. The following quote from the article wraps up the whole essence of the article: "If these tests were properly named, they would be called Tests That Predict Success or Failure in the School System From Which the Questions Have Been Derived. Nothing would be said about the relationship between scores on these tests and intelligence--whatever that means".
I found chapters 7 & 8 filled with a lot of information that I found very useful. This class is an excellent opportunity for a parent such as myself. I find I am learning more about my children and myself as a parent than I ever thought I would. I enjoyed the extra research opportunities I had the last couple of weeks, with learning about whether or not my children should do chores and also learning about measuring critical thinking skills. You really do not think about all the critical thinking that is involved in a persons day. It is amazing, especially when you are looking at through a child's eyes.
The section about Moral Development was also quite fascinating to me. It was a new concept for me. "Kohlberg believed that peer interaction is a critical part of the social stimulation that challenges children to change their moral reasoning. Whereas adults characteristically impose rules and regulations on children, the give-and-take among peers gives children an opportunity to take the perspective of another person and to generate rules democratically." It never occurred to me before reading this that moral reasoning was such a huge thing for a child to conquer.
Also, the section on families caught my interest as well. I am a stepparent and whenever I can learn more about that special dynamic I will. It is a complicated dynamic, I have been a stepmother for a little over 12 years now. It amazes me to see how our relationship shifts and changes so often and quickly. It is something I have to work on daily and be extra sensitive about.
The section on peers was also interesting to me. I never understand the world of peers when I was in school. I was always the shy kid who kept to themselves. It is interesting to see the dynamics from a different perspective now that I am an adult and do not have the same fears I did then. Also, I now try to analyze my children and guess what peer status group they would be classified in. Knowledge can be so much fun.
Making our own quiz this week was such a good review for me, it forced me to delve into my book and try to figure out the key ideas of the chapters.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Chapters 5 and 6
Chapter 5: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood.
These chapters were both very involved and full of new information to me. These chapters seemed to put together the concepts I learned in Intro to Psychology. I enjoyed the articles in Learning Plan 5 about types of play, Vygoysky, Theories of Mind, and Baumrinds parenting styles. The different types of parenting styles defined by Baumrinds was particularly fascinating to me. I found that I was quite an inconsistent parent on most days and that my husband is usually right when it comes to parenting techniques. Overall, I found my style is most like that of an authoritative.
Something that never occurred to me was the ideas of the Theory of Mind. I guess that I never really thought about how children viewed the ways others think. I also found it interesting that the later a toddler develops this awareness of other people having different thoughts the more likely that child will be less social and become a victim of a bully. It made me wonder if that is why I was shy as a child. It would be very interesting to investigate that further.
I also found the reading about moral development very interesting. It is something I don't normally think about. I find myself now analyzing everything my six year old does to try to decode where she is in her development. I am excited to learn more about the development of my children and myself in the weeks to come.
Chapter 6: Socioemotional Development in Early Childhood.
These chapters were both very involved and full of new information to me. These chapters seemed to put together the concepts I learned in Intro to Psychology. I enjoyed the articles in Learning Plan 5 about types of play, Vygoysky, Theories of Mind, and Baumrinds parenting styles. The different types of parenting styles defined by Baumrinds was particularly fascinating to me. I found that I was quite an inconsistent parent on most days and that my husband is usually right when it comes to parenting techniques. Overall, I found my style is most like that of an authoritative.
Something that never occurred to me was the ideas of the Theory of Mind. I guess that I never really thought about how children viewed the ways others think. I also found it interesting that the later a toddler develops this awareness of other people having different thoughts the more likely that child will be less social and become a victim of a bully. It made me wonder if that is why I was shy as a child. It would be very interesting to investigate that further.
I also found the reading about moral development very interesting. It is something I don't normally think about. I find myself now analyzing everything my six year old does to try to decode where she is in her development. I am excited to learn more about the development of my children and myself in the weeks to come.
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