Blog #7: YA in Images

For my YA in Images, I worked with Alayna!

In this project, we were able to incorporate a variety of the things that are going on in students lives during their adolescent years.

1. First we chose to put all of the pictures in a polaroid frame because at this point in their lives students feel the need to fit in. They feel like all eyes are on them and they must broadcast their life perfectly. This is currently really effecting our young adolescents. Kids feel like they have to compete to make their life look the most fun. This is where social media plays a huge role. Kids browse on social media daily and are constantly comparing themselves to everyone else. In the WEMSTSK book it was explained that students have an online "reputation." Kids now have to keep up with there in person reputation as well as their online reputation. They worry about likes and follows and who is interacting with their posts. It was said in the reading that 2/3 of all the teens they surveyed said that they go on social media multiple time a day and many times they are multitasking between a variety of social sites. This idea shows the concept of Social Development.

2. The first picture that we used was an iPhone. In this iPhone we created a message to try and replicate messages that adolescents would send back and forth. Here it is evident that the person who received the message was misunderstanding the tone of the conversation. Again, in WEMSTSK it says, "an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex of the brain may cause young adolescents to completely ignore or misread facial expressions of others" p. 36. This is a really common thing that adolescents do. This happens in person, but also over the phone and again, on social media. Kids are constantly searching for that feeling of being accepted into a specific group or by specific people, so their emotions are on high. It is not uncommon that students misread or misinterpret messages or comments especially on social media. This picture reflects the idea of Social Development.

3. For our third picture, we found something to explain a process that occurs during Physical Development. To show the changes that are occurring with students appetite we used a photo of the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar. In WEMSTSK, it says that it is not uncommon for individuals to eat from the time they get home until dinner time and to still be hungry for dinner. "Active young adolescents need anywhere from two to three thousand calories a day" p. 21. This was interesting to me when I first read it because I remember when I would get home after school or practice, I would be starving, I felt like I could eat all of the food in the pantry. My parents and sisters used to tell me to wait for dinner, but I was just too hungry. I then watched my younger sister go through this as well.

4. For the next picture, we wanted to explain some of the Cognitive and Intellectual Development that occurs within this time period. We found a picture of flowers blossoming. On page 26 in WEMSTSK, it talks about the idea of "blossoming" in the brain and how the myelination of the brain is still continuing to connect. The blossoming time for the brain is when all of the connections are being made and things are growing and expanding. I remember watching this happen with the students that I tutored in high school. I had a group of seventh grade boys. I remember as they got older it was shocking to me the way their thinking changed. I watched as they went form writing a couple of words as answers to then providing a more in depth answer the next year. This was such a crazy thing to see because I knew that those concepts and ideas weren't being taught to them, but instead they were just maturing and learning how to think more deeply and intellectually because their brains were blooming and pruning and making space for new material.

5. The next picture we chose was the brain under construction. This was another example to show how the brain continues to grow and how at this specific time of young adolescents the brain is going through the most changes that it ever will. This represents Cognitive and Intellectual Development. The things that are happening to the brain at this time is the reasoning for how there is such a change in behavior and attitude in kids. A lot of times this stage can be labeled as the hormonal teenage years. This can clearly be understood because of all the changes that are happening to young adolescents.

6. The next image of the person standing on stage speaking to an empty crowd represents the idea of the "imaginary audience." This is our last example of Social Development. In WEMSTSK we read about the idea of an imaginary audience on page 44. This was an interesting topic because I have always why students are so worried about what they are doing or what they look like or what they are dressed like, but it is truly because they feel like they are constantly being watched or judged all fo the time. I remember when I would drive to a resturant in town my younger sister would be mortified to go in if she saw older classmates or friends of hers there and she wasn't invited or she didn't dress up like they did. This was such a shocking concept to me because it truly doesn't matter, but at that time all they can worry about is not fitting in or not looking good enough. I would compare this feeling to walking into an interview and applying for a job in front of a huge panel of people. Adolescents can tend to feel like they are being judged by this huge board and they must do well enough to pass the test.

7. The next image of the risk and safe path demonstrates the Cognitive and Intellectual Development. "Middle Level students are certain that no on has ever thought the thoughts they are thinking or felt the feelings they are feeling" p. 31. This concept of I am the only one going through this or I am the only one feeling this ways leads adolescents to make poor decisions that can result in bad things. At this time, adolescents are more likely to take the risks and do the things that maybe they shouldn't be because they have this false reality of "it won't happen to me." I remember when I was in Middle School a lot of kids would make really poor choices. These choices are made solely based on emotion and feeling rather than the rational of a good choice and a bad choice.

8. The next picture represents Emotional Development. This is the picture of the person with a happy mask on over a sad face. This picture is being used to represent mood swings. During this time, students don't know what they are feeling. Everything is happening at once and adolescents emotions are changing drastically. When I was in middle school I remember constantly being asked "why are you so mad?" This would just infuriate me more because truly, I didn't know why I was so mad. I didn't understand why I was feeling the ways that I was feeling, but all I did know was that if you asked me why I was mad, I was just going to get more mad!

9. The next picture of the sleepy alarm clock represents Physical Development. There were some very interesting ideas brought up in the reading about physical development. It said on page 23, "Young adolescents of this generation receive less sleep than those from previous years because they have so many additional stimuli to keep them awake for hours in the evening." I didn't even think about this. When I was going through grade school and middle school, I did not get a phone until 6th grade. Even when I had my phone, at night it had to charge away from my bed. Now if I really wanted to I could have sat on my phone at night, but honestly there wasn't much to do. I could play games, but that got boring after awhile. I couldn't call my friends because everyone sort of had similar rules about no phone calls after a certain time. Even though I still didn't get the proper nine hours of sleep, I still did better than what kids are now. Now, kids can sit an watch videos, scroll on Tik Tok and Snapchat all night.

10. The next picture is the girl looking at herself in the mirror. This picture also represented Emotional Development. This is used to represent the lack of self-esteem that adolescents have especially during this time period. With a variety of physical changes occurring to their bodies, adolescents can get scared and worried and can begin to question their worth. This relates back to the idea of feeling the need to compare yourself to everyone. Here, adolescents are all maturing and changing, but the issue is that everyone begins at different times and different rates. That means that your best friends could begin to grow and look more womanly which is attracting everyones attention and you are still looking the same. This is difficult for students to deal with. Middle school was such a weird time for this because boys and girls mature at very different times. In fifth grade all of the boys were taller than the girls, but then come seventh and eighth grade year, I remember feeling like a giant because all of my once taller guy friends were inches below me.

11. Following with this idea of growing, we put a picture of a person with really, really tall legs. This represents Physical Development. We used this picture to show the growth that occurs in the skeletal system. This growth can occur throughout the whole body but at different times. This is why I felt like a giant walking through school. My legs stretched so far, but my upper body and arms did not.

12. The last picture that we used was the person juggling between the facial expressions to put on or what face they wanted to wear today. This was used to represent the struggle adolescents have with trying to find their identity. This is an example of Emotional Development. This is such a difficult time to figure out where you fit in. Students are forced to choose their identity and understand their race, sexuality, culture, religion, relationships, socioeconomics, physical, and academic concerns. This is a lot for kids to decide and think about, but all these thoughts are constantly swirling through their heads. As I talked about on the last pictures, just imagine all of this on top of every other thing that I have talked about. It is completely understandable why adolescents are moody or have a temper during this time. Look what they have to go through.