YA Lit Textbook ch 6 review

Ch 6-How do adolescents develop?

This chapter does a review on psychologists Piaget, Havighurst, Kohlberb, Maslow & of the Reading Development concept by Donelson Nielsen.  Dr. Lesesne reminds listeners that in order to best serve our students, media specialists/librarians need to think about how the students develop intellectually and physically.  The focus should be on helping students/patrons find the right books. With Piaget in mind, when dealing with adolescent students their intellectual ability may not be able to handle abstract concepts such as theme just yet. Combining a bit of Vygotsky and using scaffolding to be able to take the reader from a concrete stage that they are on & move to the abstract is a great way to do so.  Encouraging those students to read books where the characters are dealing with some of the same things would be particularly beneficial as well. Students are best able to make those transitions with examples in books. Havighurst also mentioned different stages of development. While hearing about the stages and examples of what they may “look like” in children. From hearing students say “but I don’t have any friends,” in the “peers are shifting” stage, becoming aware of the opposite sex and their differences in the “easy relationship with the opposite sex.”  It was also noted that the next 3 stages lead to one another, and how 2 of them go hand in hand. The “working for pay” as students work for payment that will lead to independence to go along with the “changing relationships with parents” which goes “developing morals and values” as they look at their parents’ morals and values and decide which they agree and which they disagree with, all 3 lead to one another. The other two that go hand-in-hand would be the ‘working for pay” & “finding vocation,” as they start working, they start realizing what type of job they would like to have as adults. The last stages are “physical and body changes,” where children are having to deal with their ever changing bodies, how to live in them, and how to not stand out too much and “developing sex roles” where they choose which of society’s sex roles they follow and which they ignore.  For these 8 stages, students as readers need books that help them see that they are not alone, books that give examples on how to move past the stage, and books that help them see some of the rewards and consequences when different choices are taken. When talking about morals and values, Kohlberg comes with his 3 stages, preconventional, conventional, & post conventional. Preconventional is a stage that many still deal with as adults, it's the way that drivers follow the rules of the road when traffic officers are nearby, but pick and choose which rules to follow when not being directly observed. Conventional is the stage when all of the rules are being followed all of the time. Post-conventional is recognizing that laws exist and they are there for a reason, but violating them when they are for the greater good. It’s the person that speeds down the road when they are transporting an injured person in their vehicle. Media specialists/librarians should be looking for, purchasing, and suggesting books that help kids in the stage that they are in, and that take them to where they are going.   Maslow’s hierarchical needs model has a set requirement that certain needs are met before others can be achieved. Things like physiological needs must be met before self-actualization needs can be met. Maslow’s list helps media specialists/librarians create bonds and have relationships with students that will help both parties, students can get the books they need and media specialists/librarians will be able to know how to best help them. The “Reading Development” by Donelson Nielsen and the way that Dr. Perry adapted the graphic image reminds me a lot of the “why do we share literature” chapter of our textbook. It gives reasons why books should be shared and the types of books that all readers should be reading to achieve those. The reasons are not exhausted, and can be revisited over and over. Reasons like readers should read books that act as mirrors (show characters like them in them), and books that act as windows (where readers explore the world and situations vicariously via books).  

Take Away

My undergrad degree is in psychology, so I had previously taken a course on adolescent psychology, I used some of what I learned in class while teaching in the elementary classroom. I had not made the connection in regards to the library.   I really enjoyed reviewing the different psychologists & how their methods and ideas transfer to my students as readers. Also with this, as a media specialist/librarian you have to have already built relationships with the students. Just because a student is in a certain grade level, does not mean that they have reached a certain cognitive level. The same way that one student may already know how to tie their shoes, and their peer has not, not all students cognitively mature at the same time. The only way that a media specialist/librarian may know where the student is, is by having a (working) relationship with them.  When a media specialist/librarian knows their patrons/students, they are best able to support them with finding the books to help them cope with where they are in life and prepare for the stage that is to come. Using the “Reading Development” is one that I really make sure that I work with. I am thinking of creating notecards of sorts that highlight the different reasons for readers to read. I know that the list of stages/reasons is not one that when it is met, it is done, so I can use the cards to help me suggest books for students when they get “stuck.” As a whole, my biggest takeaway is, learn about your patron, they won't know the name of the stage they are in or the psychologist that came up with the theory, but they will tell me about their life, and I can use that to help them find a book that best fits their need, the number one way to learn about them is by having (appropriate) relationships with them.