Observation Week 3

This week I observed a group of children at a birthday party for a boy turning 12 years old. At the party were 12 boys age 11-13 and two girls, both of whom were 15. The boys seemed to have yet to go through puberty, while the girls appeared to have experienced it already. The parents and family were also in attendance and everyone who attended was Caucasian.

While I observed, the boys took part in several activities which included basketball, riding four-wheelers and dirt bikes, and the blowing out of the candles on the birthday cake. I noticed that throughout all these activities, the two girls did not participate.  They stayed huddled together and only interacted with each other. In addition, the children tried to stay away from the parents, as if they were too cool or embarrassed to be around their parents.  When it came time to take part in the singing of the birthday song and blowing out the candles, it was clear by the children's comments and their reactions that they thought this activity to be childish.  In addition, when the children took a break from playing ball, a couple of parents began to play. The children enjoyed laughing and making fun of them as they failed or completely missed the goal. The children also did not like being told not to do something or to be careful.

This week's observations allowed for several connections to the Brighton book to be made. One thing I particularly noticed was the abrupt mood swings.  One moment the kid would be happy and goofing off, but once the parent said something to him to correct his behavior, the kid became sullen, and a minute later he would be cheerful again. Brighton points out that teens are prone to change their attitudes in a very short time period.  Furthermore, the children seemed to enjoy that their parents were failing when playing basketball. "Young teens often will look for flaws in their parents and seem to be delighted when the parents make a mistake or do something foolish" (Brighton, 2007, pg.97). This could not be truer, the kids loved to laugh at their parents and make fun of them. In addition, the boys had yet to go through puberty and as a result they did not seem to want to have anything to do with the two girls.  It was as if the girls were still their enemies.

As I watched these kids and the attitudes they had towards their parents, it made me startlingly aware of how challenging it is going to be to connect and be able to reach these children during such pivotal years. Children are going to have abrupt mood swings and are not going to like taking directions. As a teacher I will have to realize, that sometimes, students can not help but be moody and have mood swings. I have to remember I was there once myself and I have to think how it is best to address students when they are like this. Furthermore,  I know that during this time in their life they do not like taking instruction and as a teacher I will have to find a way to approach students so that it does not seem like I am being bossy. Teaching is a challenge and students in this age group may be the hardest to reach because of their constantly changing bodies and hormones.