How do Adolescents Develop

How do adolescents develop?

There are 5 recognized areas of development that young adults will go through.

1.       Physical
2.       Intellectual
3.       Developmental
4.       Moral
5.       Reading

One of the most influential areas is the physical. This is the time when students are going through puberty. As they change, their bodies are experiencing a new normal and it is not one they students may readily accept. Voices change, bodies get taller, and hormones kick in. This stage of development is never easy. The physical reality gets in the way everything else in their life including or especially school and learning.  As a librarian, I should make sure my collection includes books that have characters going through similar situations and that reassure students that they are normal.

Intellectual Development is the time when students thinking moves from concrete to abstract. This happens somewhere around the age of 14, but for some kids it happens earlier. Books with abstract concepts should be included in the library collection but teachers and librarians may need to provide some scaffolding in their teaching to help students understand as they acquire this knowledge.  Books with concrete concepts should still be included in the library collection.

The social development is one of the biggest stages. Transitioning to middle school is a big adjustment not just because of  a change of school buildings but a change in peer social groups. Students are

1.       Learning to get along with peers

2.       Creating a relationship with the opposite sex

3.       Negotiating working for pay

4.       Changing the relationship they have with their parents

5.       Beginning to find a job or vocation

6.       Developing morals and values

7.       Adapting to their physical bodies

8.       Defining their appropriate sex roles

This is area of development has undergone one of the most changes due to the changing scope of our society due to social media and our online presence.  The morals and values of so many young people have changed or become nonexistent. The view of a normal or perfect body has changed now that more and more people are showing themselves online.  Beginning to negotiate working for pay and looking for a job leads to young adults becoming less dependent on their parents. Another major shift in our thinking has come due to more awareness of gender development and sexual attraction.

A library collection must still include books that hold onto traditional values even with a modern setting. Characters should experience some of these changes to so that students can empathize with their situation.

The Moral Development is important to shaping what kind of adult students will grow into. Humans are preconventional,  conventional,  or post conventional. Preconventional means they  look for rewards for good behavior and punishment for bad. This is a carryover from the pre adolescent years. Students are rule followers in the conventional stage. Post conventional means humans are living a life where the justice for humanity supersedes the laws of the land. They are more concerned for their fellow human being than following the rules.  A library should try to encourage books that move students along their moral development stages. They should not stay in the preconventional stage.

Maslow recognized that there was a hierarchy for the needs of students . Before they can begin to feel for others they must feel safe and loved. Their esteem should be built up.

Finally we get to students development as a reader. We all begin reading for unconscious delight. In other words read because it is fun. Then students start to look for books with characters that remind them  of themselves or are going through similar life experiences as them. This is call reading autobiographically. Then students begin reading for vicarious experience, then for philosophical speculation, and aesthetic experiences

My Reflections/How this will affect how I read and evaluate literature.

Seeing all the types of development has made me realize that puberty is a drastic change in human development and one of the shortest periods.  Between middle school and high school is only 7 years and there can be so much that goes on during that time. It also make relevant to me that the hallways of middle and high schools are filled with students with a wide range of taste. While reading YA literature I will make note of how one theme may not be like another. All the novels will be different as they are appealing to different tastes.  These books are no longer trying to teach lessons per se. They are more a media for a student to find a sense of identity.

As I evaluate these books, I will look to see that the characters are not just multicultural but that they are put in new and environments and situation where they will have to find their niche. They should also be multi dimensional.  I will look to see that there are characters struggling to find their identity as well as struggling with parents and peer groups. I will read to see if every problem is solved and tied up neatly in a bow. That shouldn’t be happening because that is not how life is.  I look for modern societal problems like gender identification and racial equality.