After reading and pondering the debate about teens
lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do
you think this means for you as a teacher?
As a teacher, I think it is very critical that we teach
children good habits so when they become teenagers its not a new choice to
make. For instance, we teach elementary students about drugs and the dangers of
using them. We start this at a young age in hopes that when they are older they
will already have made the choice not to use drugs. The choice is already made
so it isn’t hard for them to resist and not use it. We also have programs to
teach young students to prevent forest fires, what to do in a fire, and
“stranger danger”. It’s not a perfect fix nor will it keep all youth from
making bad choices, but the more we can ingrain in them at a young age and
continue to reinforce throughout the years, the less bad choices we will have
to deal with when they are older.
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThe information on the brain is interesting. With teaching younger children, you can start to see things that teachers at the upper grades will be dealing with, but in a bigger way. Helping students with problem solving, organizing and decision making at a younger age can make a positive impact as they get older.
Thanks!