Chapter 6: How do Adolescents develop?

Chapter 6: How do Adolescents develop?

 This chapter analyzes the different aspects of development and how we know readers. A reader’s development (physical, emotional, mental, etc.) helps us as teachers and librarians better match books to adolescents. This is important because you do not want to give a student a book that they are not ready for or already far surpassed because it may turn them off reading and that is the last thing we would want to do.  

First is physical development, adolescents are going through puberty. It is physical development that makes adolescents more insecure because they are always bombarded about “if they are normal?” This is something we need to remember when suggesting books that help them realize that they are normal in a way.

Piaget is known for his theories on intellectual development. Adolescence is often considered the time when they transition from concrete thinkers

to abstract formal thinkers. If a student is still in the concrete level, then that would call for more scaffolding when asking abstract questioning when students are talking about their reading. This is also important when suggesting books because if you have a book that is more abstract and isn’t just a basic plot and characters then that book may not be right for that student.

 Havighurst also had a theory on developmental stages which includes learning to get along with peers (those who share our interests or hobbies). Other stages are having an easy relationship with the opposite sex, working for pay, changing relationships with parents. All 3 of these stages work together into how they view the world and structures around them. This is a time when kids start figuring out their own morals and values which sometimes makes them fight with their parents. The last two stages (adapting to physical bodies and defining appropriate sex roles) work together/ against adolescents because these are what is considered wrong or right about them- this is usually where bullying begins as they do not know how to cope with their own physical body changes and the gender roles that are being placed upon them by society.

Kholberg’s theory specifically expounds upon their moral development: preconventional, conventional, and post-conventional. Kids often operate at the preconventional level that is all about rewards and punishment, you do something good to get a reward in return or you avoid doing something bad to not get the punishment. When the reward/punishment is removed, then their behavior can revert to whatever it was before the reward or punishment is introduced. Conventional level is all about following the rules: society and religion are often the rules that we are adhering to. Post-conventional level is where we recognize the laws, but our morality (what we believe in) is more important than those laws- one common example is civil disobedience.

Another thing to consider is Maslow’s hierarchy of Needs which discusses the building blocks for self-actualization. It begins with Physiological as if you do not feel well then you will not be able to move up the pyramid at all. An example would be a kid coming to school hungry or with not enough sleep that their learning will be impacted. Safety is about both physical safety and psychological safety- no bullying, feel of belonging which brings you to the love and belonging. Esteem is the next level to be able to respect and feel respected in an environment. We need to find books that help us recognize these needs and can show growth in them as a mirror for students.

Developing as readers is especially important for us to know as it will help us build bridges and ladders from one book that they may like to the next. The first step is that it develops empathy as we have talked about why we share books with kids, then unconscious delight the feeling of devouring a book (series and serial reading), reading autobiographically to help us understand ourselves better (mirrors), reading for vicarious experience (windows), philosophical speculation is related to Kholberg’s theory of morality, and lastly, reading for aesthetic experiences (the joy of reading and loving something so fully). These steps are not necessarily linear as you can pass in and out of each, but when you meet an adult that is not an avid reader it is often because they never got one of the steps along the way.

Reflection:

I believe that all of these theories are very important in practice. The understanding of these theories help you fully understand the adolescent (or even adult) that you are working with. It is especially important to be able to recognize books that help adolescents get through some of the more tough phases that they may be going through. For example, one of the books I will be reading next is It’s Perfectly Normal: changing bodies, growing up, sex and sexual health by Robie Harris. Books like this one is important to have especially during physical development. This book has the potential to help an adolescent better understand the changes they are going through. This particular book is informational, but there are other books that help portray the same idea in fiction. I remember when I was going through puberty my mom kept trying to get me to read Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. She saw this book as something she read during this stage in her life and it was able to help her. Too bad that I was in Havighurst’s changing relationships with parents in my development, as I feel it might have helped a lot. It is also important to know the books that help students who might be struggling to break through as when society defines what is your appropriate gender role. Books like Luna, Lily and Dunkin, and  The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks help break the expectations and help students understand that it is okay for them to be whatever they want to be.