Adolescence

Chapter 2 by Jeanne Brooks-Gunn and Edward O. Reiter was an interesting and very useful examination of the pubertal process. While I was reading the first part of the chapter, I thought it was going to be a struggle, but once the authors got beyond some of the physical changes and into the results of the changes it began to take on a new meaning. I must say that I was initially a little shocked by the lack of research that has been done on this topic. However, it does make sense given the willingness of many adults to shun the topic. It is too bad because that sort of behavior is then passed down to their children, so they begin to believe puberty is taboo and are unwilling to talk about it.

There were some obvious parts to the chapter. Specifically about girls maturing earlier than boys and the fact that boys are only really willing to discuss their changes in the abstract (typically within the comfort of large groups in the lockeroom setting), while girls are willing to speak more openly, but only with their mothers or close friends. However, there was a lot of information I was unaware of. Particularly interesting is the section devoted to explaining the challenges encountered by early-maturing girls and late-maturing boys. For instance, I was completely ignorant of the fact that early maturing girls are more likely to suffer from an eating disorder because they go through the weight-gain stage before their classmates that have not begun puberty. Or how late-maturing boys suffer from low self-esteem levels. But given the emphasis put on sports among young males it makes perfect sense. Related to this is how early-maturing boys are much more likely to be misogynistic because they achieve the "prestige" of physical and emotional growth. Then as a result, they develop sexual-stereotypes. Obviously I did not think about this when I was in middle school, but now when I do think back to some of the people I went to school with and their behaviors and experiences, it crystallizes.

I have not started teaching in middle school, but I will try to keep some of this information in the back of my mind when I am in the classroom. I remember I had a music teacher (I think he may have been a long-term substitute) in middle school that had absolutely no clue how to handle young children. He was completely unaware of and insensitive to the changes young people experience. When there were outbursts in class or casual "immature male" conversations, he would react by losing his cool, then the rest of the class fed on this. It was as if he expected us to be much older and mature than we were. It is important for teachers to understand what sort of changes her/his students are experiencing and react sensitively.