teenagers
Saturday, November 7, 2009 at 02:28PM Here’s a Twilight Zone-type premise for you. What if surgeons never got to work on humans, they were instead just endlessly in training, cutting up cadavers? What if the same went for all adults — we only got to practice at simulated versions of our jobs? Lawyers only got to argue mock cases, for years and years. Plumbers only got to fix fake leaks in classrooms. Teachers only got to teach to videocameras, endlessly rehearsing for some far off future. Book writers like me never saw our work put out to the public — our novels sat in drawers. Scientists never got to do original experiments; they only got to recreate scientific experiments of yesteryear. And so on.
Rather quickly, all meaning would vanish from our work. Even if we enjoyed the activity of our job, intrinsically, it would rapidly lose depth and relevance. It’d lose purpose. We’d become bored, lethargic, and disengaged.
In other words, we’d turn into teenagers. — Po Bronson, Why Teenagers Are Growing Up So Slowly Today
Adolescents are actually two people in one — a regressed child and an emergent adult. For too long parents and experts alike have concentrated on the former to the detriment of the latter. — Michael Riera, Field Guide to the American Teenager
We place kids in schools together with hundreds, sometimes thousands, of other kids typically from similar economic and cultural backgrounds. We group them all within a year or so of one another in age. We equip them with similar gadgets, expose them to the same TV shows, lessons, and sports. We ask them all to take almost the exact same courses and do the exact same work and be graded relative to one another. We give them only a handful of ways in which they can meaningfully demonstrate their competencies. And then we’re surprised they have some difficulty establishing a sense of their own individuality. — Joseph and Claudia Allen, Escaping the Endless Adolescence: How We Can Help Our Teenagers Grow Up Before They Grow Old
Reader Comments (39)
arwen, i assume you mean in contrast to schoolwork? :^) that's a great example!
my older son turns 13 in two weeks. i can hardly believe it. he is a smart, funny, well-read, interested and interesting person. i think that respecting and supporting children’s interests when they are young segues naturally into respecting and supporting teens and young adults — *their* interests. not only do we fill most teens’ lives with things they don’t care about, but we don’t get really interested in the things they do care about. to my mind, there’s too much knee-jerk dismissal of computers, music, etc., and not enough recognition that these are the things kids can use (their real, deep interests) to begin doing serious work of their own. and skills learned while doing that work transfer to *everything*.
Of course, if they had a good foundation in those subjects before they hit high school, it wouldn't be a big deal. That's not going to happen. Not in this system, anyway.
i know i’ve used this metaphor before, but it really is the difference between pushing a heavy boulder uphill or simply rolling it downhill. i don’t have to coerce or threaten or require him to learn anything — his intellect is in full gear and he’s the one driving.
can institutionalized education differentiate enough to allow kids to follow their interests and *be* individuals? school feels like something that is done to you rather than for you.
Unfortunately, the way things are going these days, I fear we will move in the opposite direction and it will become more and more difficult to make our own parenting decisions, like whether to homeschool, if we're not careful.
I was going to put this in the open thread the other day, but I was having trouble replying, and I never had a chance to go back and try again. Maybe sometime in the next couple of months I'll be able to read that paper again, read some other things (like Holt, Gatto, and Moore), gather my thoughts, then pick your brain a little.
In the meantime, viva la revolution!
I used to teach middle school and high school, and it struck me that the kids were desperate for adults that they could have authentic relationships with, adults who would actually take their interests and passions seriously.
It seems that as long as institutional education is about giving kids skills (and as a side note, only the better schools do that--more often, kids are memorizing information that they will forget and never even getting to the skills piece--but that's another topic entirely!), it's hard to imagine anything but the most alternative places (Sudbury-ish kind of schools) giving kids the freedom to explore whatever they want and trusting that they will learn what they need. Which may not include algebra or American history.
arwen, i’m looking forward to hearing those thoughts when you get them organized. :)
and — arwen and barbara — i agree completely, this isn’t about teenagers. to me, this is a natural extension of the things i talk about here: helping children find their meaningful work, helping them explore their interests and develop their talents, helping them acquire good habits of mind … kids can’t be denied these things and then expected to hit the ground running when they’re 18. it’s a process that should be lifelong!
barbara — “Adults know what's best, but aren't available to have real relationships with you.” — yes, yes, and this reminds me of those studies that come out every year saying that the thing teens want most is more time with their parents.
i think most teachers i know would point out that they don’t have enough time to simply cover the material they’ve been assigned, let alone do a project, let *alone* explore the diverse interests and individual personalities of 25 different children. school could be different (revolution!), certainly — and it could change in ways to allow more differentiation. but this support and help has to come from home. and i believe home has to put school into perspective. if it isn’t providing everything our kids need (not even close), why does it monopolize so much of our time and attention?
The class that opened up her world was a media production class, which seems to be the only semi-vocational class that is acceptable in a "good" high school (because entrance into the field usually requires a college degree). Why do we no longer offer or encourage shop and woodworking and practical electronics/technology classes and auto repair classes that teach kids real skills and help them enter the world in a trade they enjoy? Where are the internships and apprenticeships that should be alternatives to college for those who want and need an alternative, regardless of income level and socio-economic class? Where are the parents who advocate for having many available paths within the school system to a productive life?
Okay, I could write for hours on this, and how parents infantilize their college bound children. but I'll be quiet now.
there are several issues here, as you point out. exposure to real-life skills, exposure to a variety of different career opportunities, a smooth transition from school to work.
in some sense, i think we could start a revolution just by changing our collective mindset and accepting that school isn’t a be-all, end-all solution to preparing kids for adult life. changing our priorities to a more balanced, whole-life perspective and allowing personal interests and out-of-school time more importance, more respect, and more resources.
why do scores matter so much to parents? if parents had an expectation that schools would teach basic skills during the 7 or 8 hours they have kids every day — leaving after-school time free for family, friends, and personal interests — and cared more about their child’s well-rounded happiness and ability to do the things s/he needed/wanted to do, what would happen then?
from the link below
“in schools, we create artificial learning environments for our children that they know to be contrived and undeserving of their full attention and engagement."
sarah, this (and the comments that follow) may interest you:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/magazine/24labor-t.html?_r=1
crawford's book is great, btw, and not just for us manual labor types ;)
I do believe that it has to start with parents - both in letting go of test scores and college admission as *the* measure of success, and in providing kids with real experiences. Most importantly, we need to let our children experience failure and recovery from failure. If they can't experience failure within the safety net of their own home, then how will they react to it in their adult life? I believe that we have taken away authentic experience from our children because we are afraid to let them fail and learn from it. In our minds, the consequences are too great and long lasting for them to handle. I just don't think we give our kids enough credit for what they can do and be and achieve if we just give them a genuine opportunity to do it.
Mistakes Are Valuable:
http://www.whiteoakschool.com/camp-creek-blog/2008/11/13/mistakes-are-valuable.html
Mistakes Are Good:
http://www.whiteoakschool.com/camp-creek-blog/2008/11/12/mistakes-are-good.html
Basically schools want children to be independent only when it suits them.
In my country homeschooling is not an option: although not ilegal, it is practically un-heard of. The couple of people I've known (from the net, on the news) who do practice it are either in the middle of nowhere leading a very alternative kind of life or in the middle of nowhere leading a very alternative kind of life but complying with the law and handing in all assignments, tests, drills, what-have-you to the local education authorities. (ie, doing school at home and not exactly doing whatever feels right for them)
I think my family might be prepared to homeschool if it were an accepted way of life - with a community, with resources and with true freedom.
Given our reality, we send our 3 kids to school (1 in pre-K, the others in Elementary - all in the same, charity school). It's a nice school, no homework, around the block, etc, no problem with that... But, still, it is a school. And I wonder about what being there, 7 hours a day, five days a week, for roughly 8 months per year, will do to their independence and creativity. I like to think they're some of the most creative, independent thinking kids I know - and people compliment me on that (as if!) so I'm not completly alone in this ;) - but I am sure that if they were homeschooled they would be far more independent - the time available would make all the difference.
We don't do any after school activities apart from swimming twice a week (they've done it since they were 6 months, we're a maritime country, we spend 4-6 months going to the beach, etc). They usually choose to do stuff with their neighbourhood buddies (no one from their school!), so our weekends and vacation time are full with kids+parents from the neighbourhood going some place together...
So, my question is (I am sorry if this sounds like as if I'm asking for a recipe): how can we foster their authonomy/interests/creativity during this "free" time?
Or, more to the point, how can we make the case for the interests they pursue outside of school are as important as the ones they do at school? Because whereas they know they have to finish schoolwork (in school, as I said they don't get homework), they never seem to finish any project they're engaged with at home - cartoons, stories, legos, making their beds, setting the table - and jump from one to the other to the other... and this during the summer vacation as well, when they had 3 months of non-stop time for themselves... I mean, what should be their concentration level at a thing that does interest ,and is started off by , them (not counting the housechores here ;) )?
Thanks!
Marta from LIsbon, Portugal
the kind of independence that the average public school fosters is too narrrow — it’s focused on the ability to get work done without direct supervision, not thinking for yourself or going your own way.
marta, that question is exactly what i discuss in this blog. :^) get thee to the archives!
re: how to support .. here’s one post:
http://www.whiteoakschool.com/camp-creek-blog/2008/10/6/teacher-as-co-learner.html
but all the project-based learning posts should be useful.
“how can we make the case for the interests they pursue outside of school are as important as the ones they do at school?”
do we have to make a case for it? to me, it’s simply a decision — a perspective that we choose to take. we believe that what they are pursuing outside of school is at least as important as what they are doing at school — then we begin to pay attention to it, support it, learn from it, facilitate it, etc.
you seem to be asking how do we make *them* (the kids) see the work as being equally important. i think we do this by investing ourselves in it. when they see us paying attention, getting them materials, making them space, and documenting their work, we don’t have to *say* “this is important” — they *know*.
re: never finishing, this is where your support can help gently pull them back. if you highlight their work by providing space and materials and, most importantly, your attention, they will be much more likely to return to it and keep extending it. you can ask them, what do you need? what are your plans? how can i help you? and eventually you can ask them, are you done with this? are you satisfied? is there anything left you still wanted to do?
more here:
http://www.whiteoakschool.com/camp-creek-blog/category/project-based-learning
and let me know how it goes!
Yes, I was referring to them, the kids, when speaking about the importance of schoolwork vs the importance of anything they do outside of school. The fact that they get the ocasional test (with grading marks) means, to them, that schoolwork must be more important. I want them to aknowledge what they already feel - whatever interests them is important - regardless of grading marks...
My role as a facilitator has been a bit more inconstant in the past year (I have a part-time-at-home job with deadlines, and sometimes am a bit stressed...) and I guess it also depends on how enthusiastic I am about each of their projects ... It's not that easy to let go of what feels right to US and embrace what feels right to THEM ;)
I will keep you updated on their projects... Right now the oldest (9 yo) is constantly drawing monsters he invents and detailing their features (brains, limbs) both with finer, zoom-in like drawings and lists of characteristics. But he gets the papers lost, is interrupted by the younger siblings, etc, and what could now be almost an encyclopedia of imagined creatures are half-finished scattered papers from the couch to the bathroom and back... I guess I will start by getting him a special binder :)
I love your blog!!!!!!!!!!
Marta from Lisbon