tEeNs :-)

Well, it can be easy and difficult ... straight to the point and very messy ... altruist and egocentric ... actually, it can be many lovely possibilities or just one single point of view ... Does that sound (read) familiar to you? Well, that's probably because we all know that we are talking about teenagers: these wonderful people who have just come out to crack the shell that used to keep them inside a safe and predictable world ~ and that goes both for parents and the teenagers themselves ...

According to what we have read and talked about regarding adolescents, they can be considered 'a challenge for the teacher!' (BROWN 2001:92). Nevertheless, it is worth giving a few brief thoughts to these people who are much more confused and searching for answers than any teacher. Of course we should also consider that we have already been teenagers (as Morgana - if I'm not mistaken! - reminded us over our reports), and they haven't.

Some of the brief thoughts that we should try to remind ourselves of, could be ...

... teens can be very kind and nice - as long as they are respected: no one will accept a disrespectful treatment over their points of view, over their ways of behaving or wearing, for instance; why should teens accept it? We can be so tolerant to so many adults, but if it turns to the younger ones, people usually bring a hand full of prejudice when dealing with them. I guess tolerance towards people who are developing in so many different ways should be a good aspect to consider when dealing with anybody, at any age ~ WHY NOT WITH TEENS?

... teens like being challenged intellectually - at this point of one's life, conceptual analysis, formal reasoning, and propositional operations are simply THE aspects that interest teenagers. Although they may be dealing with physical and social maturation, it is at this point that human beings reach cognitive adulthood. That is good to know and to put into practice, especially when situaltions like the one mentioned by Cris come up in the class: once the student has misbehaved, it does not mean that we can make use of our authority to give him/her a hard time .. calling him/her outside and having a quick chat seems to be a good (and respectful!) way to show that there are alternative ways to call someone's attention ~ LET'S SET THE MODEL!

... teens want to be accepted - just like a child has to feel loved to feel safe to go for her/his first steps, just like an adult has to have accomplished certain social requirements, and just like an older person has to feel recognized for his/her background knowledge, for instance, adolescents' needs for appreciation will increase their self-esteem and will motivate them to go forward. That is especially true if we consider that being appreciated can be deceiving - and dangerous! That's probably why it is so easy to have so many kids going out in 'bad companion' ~ LET'S RESPECT THEM!

Well, some of these aspects have been dealt with over our today's class and it will also be part of many of our readings and discussions. Let's keep some of the point above in mind and try to be more understanding with these people who 'just' want us to come up with chances for them to develop. One good way of doing so may be showing the students that we KNOW what we are doing.