Adolescence, as
defined on Wikipadia, is a transitional stage of physical and psychological
development that generally occurs during
the period from puberty
to adulthood. I was lucky enough to make it my whole life
till last month when I had to escort the 5th grade boys to the
Robert Crown Center for Health Education.
I got a firsthand look at “The Michael Program that provides a unique
“boys-only” format for puberty education. It compares female and male
reproductive anatomy (as seen in our book pg. 188) and introduces the
physiological changes that occur during adolescence.” Educators address secondary physical changes
such as voice change, increased production of sweat and oil, acne, and the
growth of body hair, as well nocturnal emissions and spontaneous erections. I have two girls, so this was a very strange
field trip for me. On their website,
they say their mission is “to
positively impact the physical and mental health of youth through innovative
education programs in partnership with parents, schools and communities.” In how I saw the educator interact with these
boys and make himself seem cool to them, he was able to get into the “uncomfort
zone” as I like to call it. It was very
well done and I sort of know what my daughters went through in 5th
grade and why they really didn’t want to go on this field trip. But I must say it was very well done and they
offer many other programs like Science Behind Drugs, Sex Education and Social
Emotional Health as well as SPED versions upon request. Puberty is continuous and occurs between ages
11 and 12 (pg. 187). I was surprised that the start of puberty
has decreased over the years, and here in the US, it has decreased from age 17
to age 12 (pg. 189). It appears there
are many factors for this change like childhood obesity and family dynamics.
As
for myself, I had the fortunate opportunity to grow up in part of the 80’s and unfortunately
there are many photos to prove that. I
went to a small all-girls Catholic school and I can tell you that we never went
on a field trip like that. In fact, we
got no education on this subject, not even in Health class. It is no surprise to me that girls tend to
have a rougher time when going through puberty because of their self-
confidence and peer pressure. We had
uniforms but even then, you could always see a competition between the girls
from makeup, boys, hiking your skirt up (which to this day, I don’t get that
one). Looking back, I totally agree with
Erik Erikson’s 5th stage of development (pg. 194). It deals with identity and identity confusion. I did not realize it was Erikson who came up
with the term “identity crisis.” It
reminds me of the movie 13 Going on 30 with Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. This movie totally touches upon the
awkwardness and pressures of the adolescent years. My daughter is a sophomore in a public high
school. I can honestly say that the opportunities
she has compared to what I had are 100% different. They have sessions on mental health (pg199). They have sessions on drugs, stress and
suicide as well (pg. 199-200).
The
family role is very important. As the
book points out (pg. 195) mothers spend more time working than at home in today’s
society. Although my mother never worked
while I was at home, she did drink (a lot).
My father was dead, she remarried, she drank, we moved around a lot so,
tack that on to going through your adolescence and you get one tough time. I couldn’t wait to leave. It was my peers, my friends, my aunt and
myself who got me through my adolescent years.
My mother and I are talking now but we did have a period of 10 years
where we didn’t talk at all. That in
turn messed up my sister when she was just nearing this period in her life and I
have to wonder if it is part of the reasons she has so many problems now in
life. I got out and away, she was
stuck.
Page
196 talks about sexual identity and behavior.
I can tell you, I did not get that in high school but my daughters
have. It goes well with the film for
this week, The Education of Shelby Knox.
I am not naive enough to know it doesn’t happen at this age but I was
struck at how causally and unconcerned some of those teens were when asked
about it. At the same time, I was
somewhat surprised the lengths some teens go to promote abstinence. Good for them. They were not afraid, both boys and girls, to
put themselves out there to show awareness.
In this day and age, it is well known the dangers/consequences of this
sort of behaviors. So why is it still a problem?
Hi Kim,
ReplyDeleteI remember going to the Robert Crown Center as a kid too. It was the field trip we all dreaded. It did tell very informative things. I remember splitting up and girls had their session and boys had theirs. I think its important to do these trips because there are kids who don't get this information from their homes so they need to figure out what is going on with their body and why. I didn't even think about 13 going on 30, but that is a PERFECT awkward stage of my life movie! Her outfits and excess makeup to impress the boy is text book.
I'm glad you shared your story on your relationship with you mom and how a bad relationship can result in problems with children as they age. I have seen this time and time again and this really is an interesting topic to me. This goes to show how important as teachers it is to build strong relationships with your students to identify any problems they may be having at home so they don't become a statistic.
That had to be an uncomfortable field trip for the children and for yourself. It is very good that they do that. I think they need to know what is happening in their bodies is normal. Puberty and sex is something that is not easy to discuss with children. I feel it is great that they bring sex education in to the schools. Shelby Knox was a great with promoting sex education. STDs and teen pregnancies are so common. Even with teaching them to have sex safe or abstinence, the sexual desire is so strong they ignore what they know and become another statistic.
ReplyDeleteThat had to be challenging dealing with all of the change you had to deal with in your life at a young age. That is already such a tough time in life without dealing with major issues in life.
I'm sure that field trip was indeed uncomfortable! Like Kim Deir said for you and the children! They were probably uncomfortable that their teacher was a female on this trip! I think if things were reversed and I went on a field trip as a child to something like this for girls and a male teacher, I would be uncomfortable!
ReplyDeleteI love how they took this field trip though. It is so important that children understand what is going on with their bodies because it can be a very scary time. It's also really great that the persona at the trip could get into that zone with the kids. That is so important for them!
I wouldn't of thought to relate the awkwardness to 13 going on 30 but I'm glad you did! That was one of my favorite movies and I recall it well so it was easy to see where you're coming from!
It is very interesting to see the generational differences of school's role in sex education and teen's views on it. Some researchers suggest that social media has normalized sexual behavior for children way too young to view that as normal. School's roles now also have to become an agent to address messages received through social media as well. The amount, access, and speed of information children receive is astonishing and schools need to be that rock of stability for credible and responsible education.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you mentioned the Robert Crown Center I took a group of girls there when I was doing the mental and program and it was a really good experience. And as you related to young boys that attended as you might know I have 3 boys to seniors 1 sophomore which are technically my nephew's that I'm raising. It's so funny how they hit that adolescents aged later on once I got to high school. We run into people each day that hadn't seen the boys over the course of their four years of high school and they talk about how much they have changed. When I say change they have a grown three to five inches and height their weight has fluctuated their much thinner and they have so much facial hair. It's so amazing to watch them get ready to graduate and go to college and attend prom. They're so interested in what they're going to wear exactly how it's supposed to be put together and what the girl must look like. But not too long ago 4 years ago when they were attending their 8th grade dance they didn't even want to be around girls. This process of raising boys is definitely difficult when there's an old male involvement. Every boy needs another man to tell them what's a guide them I should say into manhood. It is very important that family is involved in the development of children during adolescence. I'm so grateful that we had other males they were willing to Mentor our boys in this process. They will come home and discuss things that they learned in school like masturbation I can remember that day very very well. And I didn't know how to respond my response was it's wrong and don't do it. But as I read the book it's actually natural. So education is very key and making sure that we develop responsible young adults thanks for your blog.
ReplyDelete