What’s wrong with teenagers?

Young people are blamed for many of society’s ills. Anita Collins and Mervyn Lebor suggest that, rather than blaming teenagers, we should be making some reasonable adjustments to accommodate their developing brains.

Teenage boy with head down . His parents shouting at him

In an era when young people are frequently demonised as a negative force in society, education is often looked to for ways of dealing with these problems.

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      string(5645) "Adolescence: what an amazing stage of life, with all its dramatic hormonal changes, transforming that sweet little kid into a teenager who knows their own mind, becomes their own person and finds their own direction. If all goes well, transition to adulthood means the teenager fully engages with their drive and creativity, discovers their sexuality in the context of a loving relationship and develops enhanced levels of social and emotional intelligence.But if things go wrong and teenagers experience traumatic life events with no one to help them make sense of what’s happened, they can find themselves living with the torment of shame, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, peer pressure, identity crises, and relationship breakdowns. Many will try to alleviate unbearable psychological pain with alcohol, drugs, self- harm and/or anti-social behaviour. But it doesn’t have to be this way.There is a mass of research including the social buffering studies showing that the presence of just one emotionally available adult in a teenager’s life vastly reduces the risk of their transition into adulthood being tormented or difficult. For many teenagers this will be a teacher, preferably one who is suitably trained in trauma informed practice. The following case study bears this out.Abused motherSam, aged 14, was a proud member of the school’s rugby club. The teenagers in the club had worked incredibly hard so were promised a trip to the beach as a reward.Sam came from a very troubled background – his mother (a single parent) had been a victim of childhood abuse, and never received counselling to help her process what had happened.The problem is that unprocessed trauma doesn’t just happily sit still in the mind. Research shows that traumatic memories show no hope of fading until they are worked through in the present. Failure to process traumatic memories can result in triggering flashbacks and debilitating mental health problems.Unfortunately, this was the case with Sam’s mum, who repeatedly partnered physically abusive men who harmed her just like her father had done when she was a little girl. Some of her boyfriends ended up hurting Sam too, with one particular man taking to beating Sam around the head, sometimes with a shoe.The beach day arrived and the club bounded onto the minibus, excited by the trip. Also with them was Mr Timpson, a teacher. Sam’s friend started joking around and playfully threw a rugby mouthguard at Sam. Sam went bananas and began screaming, shouting and lashing out.In effect, Sam was experiencing a trauma trigger. Trauma triggers take place when something in our current moment reminds us of a trauma in the past. The smallest of sensations, like a faint smell or light touch, can send the mind into ‘threat mode’. In Sam’s case, the mouthguard hitting his head triggered the memory of the abuse he had suffered at the hands of his mother’s boyfriend.In a trauma trigger, part of the brain called the “amygdala” goes on red alert, telling the mind that the trauma is happening again. The amygdala (see pink spot in photo below) fails to distinguish between memory and real life, which is why traumatised children are at risk of seeing minor stressors as major emergencies.Trauma is not an event itself, but an emotional response to an overwhelmingly painful and stressful event where there was no-one there to help you with what was happening at the time (Margot Sunderland)I will now describe two possible responses to Sam’s outburst. Remarkably, the second scenario actually happened. In many schools, where staff are not trained in trauma informed practice, response one would have been far more likelyScenario One (fiction)After Sam’s outburst, Mr Timpson shouts “If you are going to act like a hooligan you can go back to school right now”. Mr. Timpson asks the driver to return to the school, where Sam is put in detention.He is devastated, as the incident confirms to the critic in his head that he is intrinsically a bad person. The psychological pain is awful and he knows he will be cutting himself to numb the pain when he gets home.Across our schools there are many children like Sam who receive a punishment without the possibility of traumatic life experiences being taken into account. They may also be given a psychiatric label such as ADHD, ‘conduct disorder ‘or ‘intermittent explosive disorder’.To impose diagnostic labels on children like Sam without ever hearing their story is both an abuse of power and a failure of psychological safeguarding. As Professor Mark Solms says, “If we just see behaviour or think in terms of diagnoses – with no reference to the context of [the child’s] life we do terrible violence to the facts of what has happened to him.”Scenario Two (fact)In reality, Sam was lucky to attend a ‘trauma informed school” (TIS). In trauma informed schools teaching staff are taught to recognise trauma triggers amongst children who can go from zero to extreme arousal in seconds. For children with unresolved trauma, minor stressors (like a mouthguard being thrown) become major emergencies.In many trauma informed schools, a member of staff who has a good relationship with a parent carries out an interview to ask them if they are willing to speak about any painful life experience, trauma or loss they know the child has suffered.They are reassured that this is kept confidential, and that the information will only go to key staff directly involved with the child. 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ADHD

Sam’s Story – Managing Challenging Behaviour

26 May 2020

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      string(5621) "teaching & learning  ■  december 2006/january 200714KEY STAGE 2LITERACYOver the past few years, the UK has seen a dramaticincrease in the popularity of reading groups. It is believedthat there may be as many as 50,000 people currently inreading groups within the UK Reading groups have alwayshad a place in the context of universities, but now moreand more schools are getting on board.What is a reading group?Reading groups vary dramatically and the nature of yourgroup will depend on who it is aimed at. It could be heldin a library – and/or linked to a specific reading project. Itcould be an informal gathering – or a specific academicdiscussion aimed at analysis.Setting up a reading groupThere isn’t a right or wrong way to establish a readinggroup; what’s important is that you are open to workingwith children and young people to provide the kind ofgroup that is enjoyable to them. The best way to do this isthrough effective consultation, partnership, planning andrecruitment.ConsultationBefore setting up your reading group, it’s a good idea toconsult with young people about the kind of group thatthey’d like to join. This ensures that the group you establishis relevant and appealing. It also ensures that youngpeople feel they have ownership of the project. Talk toowith staff in any partner agencies, with teachers, and withparents and carers of younger children, to find out aboutwhat is already provided for young people in the area andhow a reading group might link in. Remember thatconsultation should be an on-going thing; not a one-off.ReadinggroupsSue Sinclair looks at therising phenomenon ofreading groups and howyou can get involved and setyour own group going.teaching & learning  ■  december 2006/january 2007 15LITERACY  KEY STAGE 2PartnershipThe list of potential partners for reading groups isextensive. Try Sure Start for young children’s groups,primary schools for Chatterbooks, youth clubs for youngpeople’s groups and community groups or social servicesfor making links with looked-after children or refugeegroups. Local bookshops might also be interested inworking with you. Talk openly with your potential partnersand make sure that you have complementary aims andapproaches before setting up a group.PlanningPlanning should be an integral part of consultation andpartnership. Ideally think about establishing aims, rules,reading lists, timings and refreshments in conjunction withthe group members. You might even consider allowingthe group to self-govern with library staff playing asupportive role. Ask young people about the amount ofinput they would like the library to have. Things to discussmight include:■ How often to meet: once a week is probably too often,once a month might lose momentum.■ How long to meet for: younger groups are likely tohave lower concentration levels than older teenagers.Somewhere between one and two hours is likely tobe about right.■ Whether to read the same book, themed books, booksby the same author or a personal choice.■ Whether supplementary activities such as quizzes andcrafts are needed.■ What refreshments would be appreciated!RecruitmentRecruitment should begin with consultation andpartnership. By the time you’ve met with partners andyoung people, establishing the group should be easy.Supplementary approaches might be:■ Flyers and posters in libraries■ Flyers and posters in schools, youth groups and otherorganisations■ Press releases for the launch■ Letters to parents■ Talks to school classes■ Information on library websites and other young-people friendly websitesPublicity and promotion (P&P)To keep up the profile of your group for young peoplewho might want to be involved – and for celebrating thegroup’s achievements, and attracting potential partnersor library advocates, your P&P plans could include:■ Governors’ meetings, parents’ evenings and open days– keep the project high profile and ensure parents’involvement in groups for younger children■ Include notices about the group in school newsletters,and the school library service newsletter■ Set up a reading group notice board in the library■ Advertise the group on your library service website■ Send a press release to local papers and radio/television – and when the group is running invite a localjournalist to join in a meeting.Ideas for chldren’s reading groupsThere are lots of ways to get children reading that youcan use as a focus for your reading group.Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awardswww.carnegiegreenaway.org.ukThe Carnegie medal is awardedto the writer of an outstandingbook for children; the KateGreenaway Award is for bookillustration. UK librarians areinvited to nominate titles forthe shortlist and once theshort-listed titles areannounced, children have theopportunity to give their viewson the books in a ‘shadowing’scheme. Groups of childrenfrom schools and libraries takepart in the shadowing schemeby reading the books andsharing their opinions with their peers and othershadowing groups across the country using the awards’website.Chatterbookswww.boox.org.uk/projects/children/chatterbooks.htmlwww1.orange.co.uk/about/community/chatterbooksChatterbooks is areading group scheme,developed by TheReading Agency inpartnership withc o m m u n i c a t i o n scompany Orange, aimedat 4–12 year olds andencourages members toread a variety ofdifferent books, visit the library and develop theirconfidence in expressing personal views on reading.teaching & learning  ■  december 2006/january 200716LITERACY  KEY STAGE 2Orange"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Reading groups

2 Mar 2007

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transported through time and space, and the beauty of books is often in the imagination of the reader. Author James Hartley shows us how to use creative writing activities to encourage to students to imagine and invent new stories and worlds."
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      string(307) "... well over the years in demonstrating to students, in an entertaining way, the power they have behind their eyes to ‘see’ things and worlds. Although what’s described here is a series of starting points or prompts, teachers will quickly see, I think, where they can go with the answers ..."
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      string(5626) "Since I can remember, books have been friends to me. My biggest goal for my own books, a series for teenagers based on Shakespeare’s plays, was to inspire in young readers this same feeling. I wanted to conjure up worlds my readers could get lost in, which would transport them through time and space, and which would captivate them and entertain them.I knew from experience that the Shakespearean texts could prove daunting, sometimes insurmountable obstacles for students studying the plays and I wanted to find a way around that. During my time at school I’d had many English teachers and the best ones had brought the plays alive to me in my imagination. That, I decided, would be my goal. I would try to get the students to imagine the worlds in their minds and to get into the plays, and plots, that way.Alongside the books I’ve written, I decided I would go into schools and give Creative Writing workshops, with the aim of demonstrating to students that they all had the power within them to imagine worlds infinite and unique. By this time, I’d started getting feedback from my books and I’d been energised by the realisation, too, that nobody read the same book—even when it was mine. Some readers knew things about my own book I’d never noticed. They connected with minor characters or asked me about sentences which I’d written almost without thinking. A fairly obvious truth hit me: the beauty of books was that the story lived in the imagination of the reader.I suppose I’d always known this with books—how I imagined characters in my favourite books had never corresponded to how they were portrayed in television or film—but I hadn’t realised that it worked with readers and writers. I had imagined my main character Sam passing a gardener leaning on a hoe in a creepy cemetery and a reader had envisaged exactly how this gardener had looked, right down to their clothes. This was fantastic for me, and it enthused me. I went into the schools with this idea in mind. Stories played out in our imaginations: that’s where the ideas met.The power to ‘see’ furtherIn this article I would like to share some exercises from the workshops which I think have worked really well over the years in demonstrating to students, in an entertaining way, the power they have behind their eyes to ‘see’ things and worlds. Although what’s described here is a series of starting points or prompts, teachers will quickly see, I think, where they can go with the answers generated. If nothing else, students will see that their opinions and what they ‘think’ of something is always unique, even when they don’t think it’s possible.In the exercises I’m going to outline here, the focus is very much on the creative aspect of the workshop and not on the technicalities of writing or grammar. The session outlined is suitable for a class of about an hour, age depending, and I’ll explain later how the results can easily be expanded and built upon over the course of a term or even a year.Stimulating imaginationThe aim throughout the entire workshop is to stimulate open, imaginative thought and to illustrate to the students that each and every one of us have very subjective responses to even the most general stimuli. This can be illustrated in a simple example exercise which can be used at the beginning of the session. Prompts can be written on the board or on handouts, a simple list such as ‘colour, place, material’ and anything else which comes to mind. The students are then asked to close their eyes and think of ‘a chair’. Without saying anything out loud, they are asked to make some notes about the chair following the prompts and the answers are elicited by the teacher.As in all the exercises described here, it’s important that the class realise there are no right or wrong answers (taste and common sense permitting, obviously). Even at this early stage, some students will develop themes which they will pursue throughout the session (maybe they see everything as pink or upside down, etc.) and in general these answers should be permitted and tolerated, though not to the point that others mimic them or that their playing to the crowd impedes the object of the exercise.The various answers regarding the chair should be enough to begin a brief class conversation about subjectivity—why did some of us see a chair against a dark background, a chair we had never seen, someone sitting on the chair, etc.? As in all the exercises, where possible, and as seriously as can be managed, the teacher should try to dig deeper into the student’s vision. Have you seen that chair before? Why was it flying in the sky? How did you feel? Could you hear anything? What was it made of? Was it old or new? And so on. The most interesting answers will develop a background for the chair (or, later, the object, or story, animal, etc.) and these tangents, which the students will confidently explain, should be pursued, demonstrating to the others that the more information they can give, or perceive, about what they are thinking about, the betterThe various answers regarding the chair should be enough to begin a brief class conversation about subjectivity—why did some of us see a chair against a dark background, a chair we had never seen, someone sitting on the chair, etc.? As in all the exercises, where possible, and as seriously as can be managed, the teacher should try to dig deeper into the student’s vision. Have you seen that chair before? Why was it flying in the sky? How did you feel? Could you hear anything? What was"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Mobilising the Power of Imagination

3 Jun 2019

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      string(5626) "Leadership Briefing is a weekly online summary of all that’s new and relevantto education, linked to original source documents that can be downloaded orviewed on screen, and available to everyone in your school leadership team.The briefings here give a sample of what’s on offer.Report update 15Vol 5.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefingLabour’s independent Skills Taskforce has recommended major reforms to the14-19 education system in this new report aimed at ending the reputationaldivide between academic and vocational qualifications. It includes introducinga new school-leaver’s qualification – a National Baccalaureate – that givesvocational and academic courses equal value.Under the plans, all students would study an intermediate GCSE-levelbaccalaureate and then progress to a National Baccalaureate. The move will bringEngland and Wales in line with most developed countries, where such key subjects arecompulsory until students leave school.Students would be able to study a technical baccalaureate based on existing post-GCSE vocational qualifications, or a general baccalaureate based on A Levels as theystand. Either route would have the same value.They would also be required to take post-GCSE (or level 3) English and maths,undertake a personal skills development programme and carry out an extendedproject.It calls for an, as yet, unspecified amount of funding to be withheld from schoolswhich fail to ensure their pupils do not drop out of education and training. This moneywill be invested back into schools through partnerships with local business so that theproblem is tackled in schools which produce high levels of NEETs (Young people not ineducation, employment or training).Recommendations:An exit qualification for all learners from upper secondary education be developedas a National Baccalaureate available as either a technical baccalaureate or ageneral baccalaureate.The National Baccalaureate should be based on four learning domains – corelearning (qualifications such as A Levels or accredited vocational qualifications),mathematics and English, a personal skills development programme and anextended project.All schools and colleges should be required to offer a National Baccalaureate whichconforms to agreed design principles.■■■Qualificationsmatter:Improving thecurriculumandassessmentfor allLeadershipBriefings area weeklyservice.Do yousubscribe?www.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdfwww.yourbritain.org.uk/uploads/editor/files/Skills_Taskforce_3rd_report.pdf16Vol 5.6School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comReportsLeadershipBriefing LeadershipBriefings area weeklyservice.Do yousubscribe?Regular exposure to violent video games makes it difficult for childrenand teenagers to tell the difference between right and wrong and weakensempathy for others, according to this research report by Brock University inCanada.Researchers from the university studied 109 adolescents from the eighth grade ofseven public elementary schools in Canada, investigating the relationship betweentheir violent video game playing patterns, habits and attitudes, and their levels ofmoral reasoning.The results found that overexposure to violent games weakens adolescents’empathy for others, and that regular exposure to violence and lack of contact with theoutside world makes it harder for them to tell right from wrong. They also struggle totrust other people, and see the world from their perspective.The results suggested that playing violent video games in general was a verypopular activity among the adolescents. It also demonstrated the significant negativerelationship between adolescents’ amount of time playing violent video games duringthe day and their sociomoral maturity.The findings are put into the context of education and normal development, andsuggestions are given for parents, educators and future violent video game research.Report summaryMirjana Bajovic of Brock University set out to discover whether there was a linkbetween the types of video games teens played, how long they played them, and theteens’ levels of moral reasoning (their ability to take the perspective of others intoaccount).The results indicate that there was a significant difference in sociomaturity levelsbetween adolescents who played violent video games for one hour a day and thosewho played for three or more. Bajovic suggests that both the content of the games andthe time spent playing contribute to the fact that many of the violent gamers achievedonly the second stage of sociomoral maturity.Earlier research suggests that adolescents who have not advanced beyond thispoint ‘usually have not had enough opportunities to take different roles or consider theperspective of others in real life.’Key findings:The findings suggest that playing violent video games may hinder moraldevelopment in some adolescents. However, not all adolescents who playedviolent video games demonstrated lower level of sociomoral maturity. Only thoseadolescents who declared playing violent video games for prolonged hours■Violent videogamingand moralreasoning inadolescents:Is there anassociation?The National"
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Leadership

SLT 5.6 Report Updates

8 Apr 2014