I observed eight young adolescents
playing together in their neighborhood. The group consisted of four boys, a 4
year old African American boy, a set of 6 year old Caucasian twins, and a mixed
African American and Caucasian 13 year old boy. The group also consisted of
four girls, a 5 year old African American girl, and a 9 year old African
American girl, a 12 year old African American girl, and a mixed African American
and Caucasian 10 year old girl.
The
adolescents were playing with two Chow dogs. The adolescents struggled to put
the 2 dogs in a Power Wheels Jeep. After getting both dogs in the jeep they
began pushing the dogs around. The dogs seemed to be looking for an opportunity
to escape but the children had them surrounded. This played out for about 5
minutes before one of the dogs managed to get loose and run for it. The twins
and the two older children a boy and a girl, ran after the dog and captured
him. They began to roll around on the ground playing with the dogs. The African
American and Caucasian mixed 10 year old girl began playing house and informed
the remaining children that they were her children. She began cooking in her make believe kitchen
and fussing at her “children”. After a while all of the adolescents went to the
field and played. The boys played with the dogs and tossed a football around.
The girls were sitting around talking about Justin Beiber and other cute boys. I noticed one of the girls (the 9 year old)
constantly watching the 13 year old boy. It was easy to see she had a crush on
him. He seemed to prefer playing with
the boys and the 12 year old girl who was somewhat a tomboy. They later returned to a sitting area with
chairs and the oldest girl turned on a radio /karaoke machine and starting
blaring loud music while the adolescents argues over who would sing on the
microphone first. They finally agreed that the youngest children should go
first. There was a great deal of dancing
and attempts to sing a variety of songs crossing several genres of music. This
was quite comical, as I watched the 6 year old twins sing and do the “Wobble” (a
Hip-Hop/Rap song) and the 5 year old African American girl sing “Big Green
Tractor” (a country Western song). I must say I enjoyed the performances. The
dogs did too.
REFLECT (based on
material from the Brighton book):
Peer
associations were noted between the adolescents. They all seemed to live in the
same neighborhood, they shared similar interests, they were from diverse
ethnical and racial backgrounds, and the group consisted of both males and
females.
Physical
Development played a factor too. The adolescents were aware of their appearance.
All of the children had their own unique style and appearance. The girls were
seen at various times grooming or playing with their hair. The oldest girl seemed to be a little
self-conscious about her body. She was
constantly pulling down her shirt, even though the shirt appeared to fit just
fine. While the boys were playing football, I
noticed one of the twins flexing his muscles for the girls.
Emotional
Development was displayed, in particular, issues involving self. The oldest girl had a portable radio that she
blared without concern of disturbing the neighbors.
FUTURE:
This
information will help my teaching by making me more aware of how self-conscious
adolescents are and that they have a lot going on with all of the changes
happening to their bodies. Also, I realize that most of the time, these adolescents
do not intend to be mean to be rude or arrogant, they are just not used to
dealing with issues other than those involving themselves. This makes it
difficult for them to “step into someone else’s shoes”. I think knowing this will help me to be more
patient and understanding with my adolescent students.
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