Week Five-Curtis-Occasionally....I Want to Talk About Me!

     The reading I had to cover for this week consisted of a single chapter.  Chapter 8 of the Lifesmart textbook focused on the stage of development known as adolescence.  I have often thought that this period of life, separate from both childhood and adulthood, is a creation of the modern era.  In times past, a person went from childhood to adulthood, with no intermediary stage.  This is evident from rites of passage such as a bar mitzvah.  Children were expected to go from childhood to adulthood at, what we would consider, a very young age.  Yet in today's world, children from 13-17 find themselves in a strange middle area, where they are not exactly children, but neither are they considered full adults.  There are reasons why experts have adjusted their views, one of which is what is known as adolescent egocentrism.
     Parents are quite familiar with this self-centeredness which teenagers seem to possess in infinite amounts.  According to the text, adolescents seem to believe that their experiences and feelings are more important or intense than the experiences of anyone else.  There are two parts to this egocentrism: the imaginary audience and the personal fable.  The first refers to the adolescent view that they seem to be on center stage and everything they do is being observed by those around them.  The second relates to the tendency of adolescents to think of their own existence in mythical terms, seeing themselves as invincible or unstoppable.  Put together, these two elements can to behaviors which can be rude or even dangerous.
    I believe that teachers should keep this egocentrism in the back of their minds as they educate adolescents, not only because it can affect how the students may view their grades and experiences, but also because it may affect how they learn.  If students belief they are under close scrutiny by everyone, the fear of failing may become to great for them or they may be tempted to feign indifference.  Additionally, if the students believe that they are indestructible, they could be easily pressured to partake in dangerous behaviors inside and outside of school.  As teachers, we need to be aware of how our students are developing and look for signs of behaviors which could be detrimental to them.  It's not enough to teach them in school...we need to be concerned about our students even when they have gone home, because what they do outside of school will ultimately affect how they learn in class.