Extra Credit Article

The Teen Brain. Primed to Learn. Primed to Take Risks.

What? Adolescents are seen as freethinking, rebellious individuals. It is often hard to understand why teenagers behave the way that they do. From the outside, we can see the physical changes occurring during the teen years, but on the inside, there is in fact much change going on in the brain. The changes in the adolescent brain cause the teens to become more free thinking and more emotional. As teachers, we need to understand these changes in order to know why it is that teenagers make decisions that cause them to endure hardships and trials.

So What? During this time, the adolescent brain is forming new connections and a greater number of synapses which causes the adolescent to be more free thinking, yet becoming more emotional as well. It is important for teachers to understand the teen brain and why teens may react differently in hot and cold cognition situations. Not only does the brain have a factor in these situations, where teens need to make good or bad decisions, but also peer pressures. Peer pressure plays a major role in teen decision making. During adolescents, teens are also facing issues such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse, etc.. As teachers, we need to be aware of these changes going on in the brain so that we can do our part to effectively influence these students for the better.

Now What? I now understand that just because a teen might get moody, does not mean that they are bipolar or depressed. Changes in the brain result in different types of moods, decision making skills, and maturity levels. As a teacher, I need to understand that in order to not take things personally and in order to effectively teach my students. We also need to keep demographics, laws, and peer pressures in mind when it comes to adolescent decision making. Society has plays a big role in a teenagers life and teens most often times do what they want. As a health educator, I want to emphasize the importance of living a healthy life and I want to share that message with them in a way that they will understand its relevance and importance.