Smile: Importance of staying positive when working with adolescents
By Christopher Barone
EDI 17 Psychology & Development of Adolescent Students
School of Education
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 27, 2009
Last class was really illuminating, I found. Six groups worked together to answer questions about how adolescents build, sustain, and behave in relationships with other peers. One theme common throughout all the groups’ findings was being positive. This may seem like common sense, but it effects much of who the adolescent is and how we, as teachers, can reach them.
Adolescence is a chaotic time in anyone’s life, and it’s not always easy to keep a smiling face when one’s body, friendships, loyalties, emotions, and values are all changing. The class exercise yesterday showed that teachers can help their students by a being an eternally positive influence to them. While many people try to label adolescents – geeks, theater kids, jocks, cheerleads – it may be refreshing to them if teachers encourage them to break out of those rules and simply be themselves. Speaking from experience, students react strongly to teachers who reject such notions. By utilizing our classrooms as a safe haven from stereotypes as well as criticisms, we can boost their self-esteem and promote the formation of healthy, positive relationships with their peers.
Students seek relationships that provide encouragement and confidence, but at that age, it is difficult for them to determine if what they are being encouraged to do is a good thing. By being positive, calming, and reassuring forces in their student’s lives, teachers can have a tremendous impact on an adolescent’s life. Sometimes, all it takes is a smile.
Long Island University, C. W. Post
February 27, 2009
Last class was really illuminating, I found. Six groups worked together to answer questions about how adolescents build, sustain, and behave in relationships with other peers. One theme common throughout all the groups’ findings was being positive. This may seem like common sense, but it effects much of who the adolescent is and how we, as teachers, can reach them.
Adolescence is a chaotic time in anyone’s life, and it’s not always easy to keep a smiling face when one’s body, friendships, loyalties, emotions, and values are all changing. The class exercise yesterday showed that teachers can help their students by a being an eternally positive influence to them. While many people try to label adolescents – geeks, theater kids, jocks, cheerleads – it may be refreshing to them if teachers encourage them to break out of those rules and simply be themselves. Speaking from experience, students react strongly to teachers who reject such notions. By utilizing our classrooms as a safe haven from stereotypes as well as criticisms, we can boost their self-esteem and promote the formation of healthy, positive relationships with their peers.
Students seek relationships that provide encouragement and confidence, but at that age, it is difficult for them to determine if what they are being encouraged to do is a good thing. By being positive, calming, and reassuring forces in their student’s lives, teachers can have a tremendous impact on an adolescent’s life. Sometimes, all it takes is a smile.
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