In my reading of Saltman, I came across a statement that caught my interest, that being that “the meaning of adolescence is different in different cultures and at different times”. This is a comment of particular importance to me as a future history teacher because of the overall impact that the times and society play in the role of developing meaning in general. The issue is that past definitions as to the meaning of adolescence, and hence the methodology of teaching those of the adolescent age needs to adapt and shift over time. This is an important issue in our modern education system as the teaching of such topics such as the social sciences has not been fully adapted to the modern times and society, with the use of the if it is not broken don’t fix it philosophy.
This is an interesting issue as the previous definitions and methodology as to the teaching of adolescents may not be adequate to fully prepare the youth of today for future educational endeavors or for adulthood in general, and hence we must in fact reexamine how we define adolescence as well as how we teach our students to bring about change. The overall issue remains that times will continue to change, as how do we as educators keep up our standards to meet the ever changing needs of our students, while still making it possible to ensure proper education for everyone?
Your blog reminded me of the historiography course I took a few years ago. The way people look at issues, in this case adolescence and puberty, is truly a scope of a society's values and norms. Chapter 2 highlights just what was important to 1990 American society, the white middle-class, but acknowledged hope for future minority research. Also, it seems kind of funny that perhaps Sir Mix Alot, in Baby Got Back, altered middle-class whites' physical ideal; from "slender" to vuloptous women with apparent curves. It seems that the authors of the book tried too hard to acknowledge diversity, but I think they failed since instead of American pubescents, they highlight people of New Guinea and Liberia instead.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the idea that society's values and norms in the middle school are shaped by the way people look at issues. It is important that we as teachers are aware of what is going on and if it is becoming destructive. As a fellow social studies teacher we can teacher these youngsters how to be good citizens even in their own little worlds. It'll take a lot of creativity, but we can do it!
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