Teenagers and the new school year

The months of August and September bring the start of a new academic year for schools throughout the northern hemisphere. For some, it will bring the challenge of attending a new school, but even for those returning to the same school, the new school year need not be merely a repetition of the patterns of the past.

The teenage years are a time of bewildering change. Most teenagers, most of the time, cope well with a myriad of changes as they journey from childhood to adulthood. For the most part, the changes are gradual, part of an on-going process of development to which teenagers become accustomed. From time to time, however, there come changes that are of a greater magnitude, that are more comprehensive in nature: starting a new school is a good example of such a change.

Often, attending a new school will coincide with the transition to a higher level of education, introducing students to subjects they may not have studied before. The teachers at the new school will likely have different expectations of their students than was the case previously, and this can mean an increased workload. Getting to know a new group of fellow-students has its attractions, but there will be the unspoken competition between them as a social order is established within the new peer group.

For others, of course, the new school year means a return to the same school. However, many of the challenges referred to above may still be present, even if the environment feels familiar. For some returners, the return to the familiar may bring its own fears, especially in the case of those haunted by past mistakes or failures. The extent to which we allow ourselves to be defined by our past is an issue for all of us, whatever our stage in life, but for teenagers in the process of shaping their adult identity, the overcoming of the negative perceptions of those within a school community as to their character or capabilities can be a task of truly mammoth proportions.

Whatever the situation of the individual teenager, however, there is an undeniable element of opportunity with the annual beginning of a new school year. Difficulties there may be, but a new school year brings the undeniable opportunity of a fresh start. Things can be different; the past can be transcended; it is possible to move on from past mistakes; it is possible for a new school year to turn out to be successful – even when the challenges seem to outweigh the possibilities. The key question is “How?”

Advice for parents

Give attention to the basics. It is surprising how often teenagers ignore the basics of personal care and hygiene, such as ensuring they get enough sleep, eat regularly and healthily, exercise and shower daily. In and of themselves, these things will not ensure a student’s success. However, ignoring such basic lifestyle issues can lead to all manner of subsequent difficulties. Students who fall asleep in class, or who are wilting mid-morning because they skipped breakfast, or who find themselves excluded from group activities due to their body odour, are not in the best condition to perform well in class. Parents have an important role to help their teenagers get the basics right and the beginning of a school year is a good time to revisit such issues.

Be interested. There will be times in the lives of many teenagers when they may not want to talk about how things are going, but it is important nevertheless that parents communicate their interest by asking questions and taking time to listen. Understanding how school is different for today’s teenagers than it was in their parents’ day is important for any meaningful discussion. Important also is the realisation that there is no necessary correlation between the preferences of parents and their children when it comes to academic subjects. At its root, it might appear that the complex world of teenage social relationships is the same as it has ever been, but the social media-dominated environment in which such relationships have to be worked out and experienced today will be alien to those of former generations.

Face fear. If your teenager expresses fears about any aspect of their school life and education, or about their social world and its impact on their schooling, it is important to take what they say seriously. Never dismiss fears out of hand, since it could be devastating to a teenager who has struggled to express their fears to feel they are being ignored. It is always better to face fears squarely rather than avoid them. Wherever possible, encourage your teenager to explore the best way forward with your support. If there are serious issues underlying the fear, encourage your teenager to involve the school, again with whatever support they desire from you.

Talk about targets/goals. The question of goals or targets for the school year is one with which students these days will be familiar since many schools attach importance to student-set targets. Encouraging teenagers to think about their goals and to review progress towards them from time to time is one way parents can participate in the on-going education of their children. It is important, at all times, for the student to be supported as they formulate their own goals. Self-determined goals are far more likely to receive active “buy-in” from your teenager than parental- or teacher-set goals, and so far more likely to contribute to sustainable progress.

Advice for teachers and schools

Keep an eye out for those who might be struggling. It is always important that teachers keep an eye out for students who might be struggling, but especially at the beginning of the school year, and especially if students are new to the school. The simple act of enquiring if everything is OK conveys the message to the student that somebody cares, and this may be all they require to be able to find the strength to address whatever is concerning them. Occasionally, such an enquiry may provide a “relief-valve” for the student to be able to express their concerns before they grow to unmanageable proportions.

Give everyone a fair chance. The vast majority of the teachers with whom I have worked over the years will do all in their power to ensure that every student is given a fair chance. Occasionally, especially if a student joining their class has a reputation, teachers find it more difficult. However, in such cases it is even more important that students feel they are being given that fair chance. An early, honest conversation with the student that acknowledges the reputation but which makes it clear they start in the class with a clean slate may be a helpful way of trying to start the year on the right foot. In the past, when I have seen students rescue a school career following a disastrous episode, the recovery has almost invariably involved an individual teacher who believed in them, even when the student did not believe they deserved a fresh start.

Set a positive tone for the year. Getting the year off to a good start is invaluable for all the students in the class. I would encourage teachers to set high standards for their classes from the outset, to model those standards, and to hold their students to the same standards.

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Teenagers and Career Choices

I still remember a talk from the “careers teacher” when I was at school, back in the 1970’s. I remember, also, being somewhat sceptical when he claimed that his small, plastic box of index cards contained information about all the known careers that might be open to us. Things have moved on a lot since then, many schools have career guidance specialists on their staff, but the explosion of career opportunities may well mean that today’s teenagers are as ill-informed about the range of possibilities available to them as I consider myself to have been all those years ago.

For today’s teenagers, however, the picture is considerably more confusing than it would have been for teenagers even just a few years ago. The annually increasing pace of technological change has had an enormous impact, and the emergence of increasingly able robots will ensure the pace of change continues to accelerate. This will mean that many current jobs will no longer exist by the time today’s younger teenagers enter the workforce, and many of the careers/jobs upon which today’s teenagers will embark do not even exist at the current time.

Projections concerning the future of employment indicate that today’s teenagers are far less likely to enter lifelong careers than many did in the past. They are likely to work much more in a series of project-based jobs in a kind of portfolio career. This will require the development of new skills and will heighten the importance of resilience. It will also increase the need for retraining at points of transition. Whilst the jobs may change fairly regularly, however, the general area within which a person works seems likely to remain generally consistent. For many teenagers, the choice of a career path will be about setting this general direction.

Advice for parents

Be aware of the following:

  • The world of work has changed considerably since you first entered it. Legal requirements, employer/employee expectations and responsibilities, workplace culture and practices have all changed since you first entered the world of work, resulting in a very different environment for today’s teenager. Recruitment practices and educational expectations have changed too, so make sure the advice you give to your teenager is based on up-to-date knowledge rather than out-of-date personal experiences.
  • Your teenager is a unique individual. Perhaps the biggest mistake a parent can make in the area of career choices is to assume that their teenager will follow in the footsteps of their parent. This simply does not follow automatically, and parents who set out to force their teenagers into their own mould can end up creating years of sadness and resentment in their children. A similar mistake occurs if parents see their children as channels through which they can seek vicariously to live out their own unfulfilled dreams. Your teenager is a unique individual with enormous potential, and it is the role of parents to be helpers to their teenagers in finding the best way for their potential to be realised both for their own good and for that of society.
  • University is not necessarily the best route into a career. For an increasing number of teenagers, a university or college education has come to be seen almost as a rite of passage. For many, it is a good choice; but for others, there are alternative routes that may serve them better as part of their preparation for the future.

Help your teenager discover what is best for them. Reasons that teenagers find it difficult to determine their future path vary enormously. The chosen career direction is laden with life-shaping potential, so it is well worth investing time and resources into making the choice a well-informed one. The teenager’s character, strengths and desires are all important factors. Put simply: some are better suited to some careers than others. As your teenager forms ideas about the direction they may wish to go, encourage them to find some kind of work experience that will help them discover what their potential career path may be like. Voluntary involvement is possible in some career areas; holiday internships might be possible in others; opportunities to meet people from various careers and, if possible, to visit them in their workplace – all these can be useful in helping them gain the insights that will lead to well-informed choices. Through it all, ask questions about their thoughts and experiences to help them clarify their thinking. Get them to explain why they think a particular career is for them. Listen carefully to what they say, challenge their assumptions, suggest a few alternatives they might like to check out, but avoid telling them what to do. Ultimately, their chosen career direction might be one of the most far-reaching decisions they will ever make, so it is important that it is their decision.

Advice for teachers and schools

Help teenagers appreciate a range of opportunities. One of the dangers for teenagers when trying to figure out their career direction is that they simply “fall into” one of the first areas they come across. This can, of course, work out well for some; but for others, it may lead to a lifetime of “If only I’d known …” statements and a persistent feeling of a lack of fulfilment. Schools have an important role in helping teenagers come to an understanding of at least some of the vast range of career opportunities that exist in today’s world. Schools use a variety of approaches, including work placements, vocational discovery programmes, career fairs, etc. Whatever approaches are used, it is important that they are sufficiently varied to be able to inspire interest in a diverse range of students. In this area, schools working cooperatively (for example, across a city) could represent a way of providing a wider range of insights into career opportunities than any one school can hope to provide when operating alone.

Preparation of students for the future is an important focus. The rapidly changing nature of modern society brings new challenges to the schools and teachers of today. If predictions are correct that today’s teenagers are likely to face frequent career changes during their working lives, then adaptability, innovation and resilience will grow in importance. More than ever before, schools need to be looking at ways to ensure their programmes help develop the “people” of the future as well as providing the academic foundations upon which future knowledge developments can take place. The likely need for periodic re-training during the working lives of current teenagers means that education will need to be seen as a lifelong pursuit much more than it is currently. To that end, teachers who can excite students about education and ignite in them a genuine desire for discovery and learning are providing an invaluable preparation for the future, whatever form it may ultimately take.

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Teenagers and Anxiety

Considerable concern has been expressed of late about an apparent rise in teenage anxiety. The number of teenagers receiving medical treatment for severe anxiety is on the rise and a variety of theories are being advanced as to why this might be the case.

It should be clear from the outset that a certain level of anxiety (for example: when faced with new challenges) is both a natural response of the human body and a good thing. Anxiety in the face of changed circumstances or new experiences is part of the body’s “fight or flight“ response. It sharpens our focus, heightens our concentration, provides a surge of energy to face and deal with whatever challenge has come our way – an invaluable asset for exams, public performances, college and job interviews, and the like. It is also useful for prompting teenagers to reflect on unsafe situations in which they might find themselves. Given the amount of change that occurs during the teenage years, it should come as no surprise that teenagers experience varying levels of anxiety. Indeed, learning how to control and use anxiety could be seen as one of the many tasks of the teenage years.

Most of the time, and for most teenagers, anxiety is a temporary phenomenon that resolves itself as the situation that prompted its arrival is faced and resolved. There are times, however, when anxiety can become a problem, times when

  • feelings of anxiety become very intense so that they begin to envelop more and more of the teenager’s life, or
  • their anxious state does not recede but persists over weeks or months, or
  • anxiety begins to eat away at the teenager’s ability to manage and enjoy daily life.

In circumstances such as these, anxiety loses its usefulness as a tool to help manage and enhance life and may develop into an anxiety disorder for which medical or psychological support may be necessary.

The causes of such a change in the nature of anxiety from a life-enhancing tool to a potentially destructive force are varied. Genetic, personality, environmental and physical factors have all been suggested among the list of possible causes, and for many it seems likely to be a combination of a variety of factors. Whilst identifying the causes can help those managing treatment and care to find an appropriate path towards a solution, many of the causal factors cannot be eliminated or avoided. We shall therefore concentrate below on steps that parents and teachers can take to help teenagers learn to manage “normal” anxiety in such a way that it retains its power as a tool to help them shape life positively.

Advice for parents

Be well informed. As with so many areas of raising teenagers, parents are required to walk something of a tightrope. On the one hand, seeking to shield teenagers from all situations that might provoke anxiety will leave them ill-equipped to face the stresses of the adult world. On the other, seeking to over-expose them to anxiety-producing situations as a form of “innoculation” against future anxiety may well undermine their confidence and leave them more prone to anxiety than they might otherwise have been. Rather, careful observation of how your teenager handles stress, knowing the classic signs of “anxiety”, recognizing the signs your teenager gives out when they are becoming over-anxious about a situation, learning when to encourage them to face their fears and when to avoid situations are all aspects of becoming a well-informed parent on this particular subject.

Maintain a healthy relationship with open channels of communication. Certainly, there will be times when teenagers reject the advice and guidance of their parents, but maintaining a relationship within which teenagers know they can share their concerns when they feel the need to do so, is an invaluable means of support that can give teenagers confidence through the years of adolescence. If parents are able, when appropriate, to talk about their own experiences of managing anxiety, including times they may have struggled with it, this can help teenagers see that it is not a subject and experience to be avoided at all costs and may well dispose them to be more open about their own experiences.

Watch out for the warning signs and don’t be afraid to act if necessary. Becoming aware of the classic signs both of anxiety and of over-anxiety is something of an academic exercise, but knowing how to act on those signs in the best interests of your teenager is highly personal. It requires the kind of detailed knowledge of your teenager that only parents, and perhaps a few others, can acquire. Of course, parents should avoid any inclination to jump in and take over their teenagers’ lives, but when the danger signs are there, parents should not be afraid to act. If anxiety gets out of control, a teenager’s longer term mental health could be affected so early intervention in terms of seeking professional support is strongly advised. School counsellors, therapists, family doctors are all possible starting points for finding professional help for those who need it.

Advice for Teachers and Schools

Inform students about anxiety, its symptoms and how to find help. The ready availability in schools of age-appropriate resources is as important in equipping teenagers to manage anxiety as in many other areas. Funding the provision of resources covering a wide range of mental health and social issues might be beyond the budgetary capabilities of many schools. However, if it were possible, it could be developed into a major contribution to student health and well-being. Schools are starting to include more aspects of well-being within their social and health education curricula, which is to be encouraged, and certainly the management of anxiety should find a place within such schemes. Anxiety carries something of a stigma of fragility and an inability to cope with life. Handled wisely, this need not be the outcome for anxious students, although it represents a danger for those whose anxiety spirals out of control. Such stigma is often best addressed by openly addressing the subject, whether it be in a classroom setting or in private conversation.

Communicate concerns. Teachers will expect to see a certain level of anxiety amongst their students from time to time, especially during the exam season, for example. However, teachers will often be the first to notice when individual students begin to show signs of becoming overly anxious. When teachers are concerned about individuals in this respect, it is important that they communicate their concerns promptly. Whether that communication happens with the student or their parent, or with someone who has pastoral responsibility in school will depend on a whole host of factors, including the age and personality of the student, the procedures in place within the school, the relationship that the teacher has with the particular student, and so on. Whatever its most appropriate form, the important thing is that the communication happens and that difficulties are not allowed to push that communication aside.

Don’t underestimate the value of encouragement. We all need encouragement from time to time, and encouragement can be a particularly effective means of support for those who are anxious. In some cases it may take the form of encouragement to face a challenge head-on despite the anxiety, but in others it will be about helping a student to find another way of achieving a goal. The approach will vary according to the individuals and circumstances involved. However, the value of the encouragement offered by a concerned teacher should never be under-estimated when offered in the context of student anxiety.

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