Jan 12 Parenting

As I was reading Chapter 21, the last excerpt called An Experienced Parent, caught my eye. After reading it I found that I could really relate to what the author was saying. The author makes a point to say that the more children you have the less worried and more relaxed you become. You essentially become an expert parent, the more children you have. Berger says that first-time parents often seem bewildered and experienced parents seem more relaxed. Berger also says that from his own personal experience when his first child was born he was much more worried about rashes, fevers and soap than his later born children. He said that became an expert on babies and so following children became much easier. Berger also mentions in the story that parents are more lenient with their later born children then they were with their first born. I personally can relate to what he's saying, I have a younger sister and I can remember when I would get upset because my parents would let her do things that I wasn't allowed to do at her age. This would also get me upset and I can remember saying to my parents 'how come she gets to do that, you would of never let me at her age'. And unfortunately I'm sure a lot of parents are like that and many of you can remember feeling the same way. I always thought that my parents were being unfair and that maybe they liked my sister more because they let her do more things, but thinking back I realize how silly that sounds. Of course my parents were more protective of me and didn't let me do certain things, I was their first born and that's fair to say that almost all parents are like that with their first born.

Quiz 10 NOT AVAILABLE

Doc,

Quiz 10 is not available under my quizzes in d2L. Is anyone else having the same problem?

Adolescence

One web article posted in Case Study three relating to adolescence was extremely interesting to read and reflect upon. The entire time I read this article, I kept thinking about the 9 retired men I work with. They constantly discuss how young adults are more irresponsible than they were during these years. They always say how "in their day" they had a wife, kids, and a house by age 25. Today, some young adults at age 25 are just becoming established. They have yet to enroll in college, or even find a career. Sharon Jayson does an excellent job writing "Walking the tightrope of the 20's." She clearly identifies some reasons as to why adolescence take longer to grow up. She has multiple detailed studies that support the idea that as society changes, so do our people. No longer do young adults mature by either marriage or the military. Instead, opportunities present themselves in all forms. These opportunities delay marriage, careers, and a family. Interesting stuff.

Jayson, Sharon. (2010) "Walking the tightrope of the 20s." USA Today.

Peer Support

Up until a certain point of adolescence, the influence of parents has the strongest effect on development. Then peer influence becomes stronger as a teenager's peer group grows. Within a school child's peer group are cliques and crowds. A clique is an adolescent's group of close friends, the one's they are loyal to. A clique excludes outsiders. The larger group of teenagers who have something in common with an individual is called the crowd. These people are not however, friends, they are what some call acquaintances. The crowd is a group with one common interest; nerds, jocks, and skaters. When choosing friends, children look for people who share a common interest. Peers have a major effect on development, whether that be positive or negative. Peer pressure is the encouragement to model the behavior of another. It is usually seen as a negative force, teens defy authority. Another thing peers take part in is deviancy training. This is a negative peer force that shows how to rebel against society.

Jan 7 Technology in Education

The section in chapter 16 about technology and cognition was interesting. Parents and teachers often lament how much time adolescents spend in front of computers and on iPods and cell phones. With the advent of texting, instant messenger and facebook, more students are writing in a language code consisting mostly of abbreviations and lacking any consistent grammar. And sitting in front of a screen all day (whether TV, computer or video game) seems to hinder the development of communication and social relational skills. Additionally, cyberbullying has become a problem. However, Berger notes that this increased use of technology may not be all bad. In fact, “Internet use may improve reading and spacial skills” (Berger, 2008, p. 405). Adolescents spend a lot of time surfing the web, which requires reading skills and being able to quickly discern what information is useful or desirable to investigate further, and which is a waste of time. In an age when so much information about so many trivial things is thrown at people all the time, developing a sense of discernment like this seems beneficial. As long as adolescents are guided by caring parents and teachers and taught to avoid questionable sites on the Internet, it can be a great tool for communication among friends, researching for school projects, getting news, and may even help students build skills they need for the rest of their lives.

Berger, K. S. (2008). The Developing Person Through the Lifespan. New York: Worth Publishers.

Jan. 7 Invincibilty Fable

I realized when I was reading this that there were times when I fell into this idea of invincible fable as a teenager. However, I am pretty sure my best friend was an exact fit for this. According to Berger, invincible fable is an idea that someone is invincible, that they are protected from harm and can not be defeated (2008). My friend and I were very adventurous as kids, we were always outside playing. I remember when we were playing he always would try some dangerous thing, and I knew it was risky. Then again, he thought it was fine and was always able to convince me to join him. I live in an area above Scranton with a lot of land, and I remember when it would snow my friend would always convince me to go down the large, narrow, slope. This slope had barbwire directly next to it, so if we went a little off course we would be hurt. I felt as if this was a good example of how we showed the idea of the invincible fable.

Now that we are older I have grown out of this stage; however, I do not think that everyone gets away from this. We tend to see this when people drink and drive, do drugs, have unprotected sex. I feel that it is apart of a growing process, and maturity that people may need to realize they are not invincible.

Berger, S. K. (2008). The Developing Person: Through the Life Span. New York, NY: Worth Publisher.

Jan 7 imaginary audience

I can remember being a young teenager in high school and middle school and feeling like there was an imaginary audience. An imaginary audience is the other people who, in an adolescent’s egocentric belief, are watching, and taking note of, his or her appearance, ideas, and behavior. This belief makes many teenagers very self-conscious (Berger, 2008, Pg. 393). It was a terrible feeling. I was always concerned with my clothes, my hair, and my overall appearance. It always felt like everyone was staring at me when I entered a room. I talked to a few friends who remembered feeling the same way. I feel like that was one of the worst stages in my life. Along with the imaginary audience I feel like when I was younger and even still today the invincibility factor played a huge role in my life. I thought that no matter how fast I drove my car or no matter how many times I lied to my mom that nothing would ever happen to me. But as I’ve gotten older and more and more terrible things begin to happen around me, you begin to realize that not everyone is watching you and you’re not invincible.