Topic 2: Puberty and Physical Health
The topics/themes we discussed this lesson are regarding adolescent development and health.
Teens engage in a variety of unhealthy, and often unsafe, behaviours ranging from sex to drugs to alcohol (Lindberg, Boggess, & Williams, 2000). Sometimes, their health is negatively affected by things seemingly innocuous as sleep; according to a published study, lack of sleep in adolescents may be contributing to a larger percentage of students with low school performance, emotional issues, and psychopathy than previously thought (Carpenter, 2001).
The question explored in this reflection is: how can I, or any teacher, encourage our students to make healthy decisions?
1. One way to promote healthier students is by tacking the problems associated with their physical health, and at the moment, teenage obesity rates are steadily climbing in North America along with their associated side-effects: diabetes, improper muscle development, digestion problems, etc. (Liu, Lawrence, & Davis, 2010). A YouTube video titled, "Our Supersized Kids" illustrates the problems causing -- and caused by -- teen obesity in the United States (KSPS, 2013), and if left unchecked, this could spell disaster for many Canadian teens including those in my own classroom. In particular, it stresses the importance of diet in healthy brain function (KSPS, 2013). Thus, I would incorporate nutrition education into my lessons by tying it into the digestive system lesson in a biology classroom. For example, I would incorporate a group discussion where the students catalogued all the foods they consumed in a week. Then, when all the food has been tallied up, the students will have first-hand evidence of their potentially harmful diets.
Although it may be unlikely that my teaching will impact the larger trends occuring in society, it is still necessary to equip teens with proper information so they can make better informed choices. For example, a student cannot know to change his eating habits if he believes that obesity is primarily caused by, say, genetics. This video by SciShow on YouTube does an excellent job of illustrating why our bodies are wired to prefer junk food. By showing this to teens in class, they may gain a better understanding of the process of obesity, and in turn, they will gain the proper information to combat it in a healthy manner.
2. A second way to encourage my students to make healthier choices is by suggesting ways they may improve their mental health. As mentioned previously, aside from drugs and alcohol, (and possibly the prospect of having sex), a major factor affecting student concentration and performance in class is lack of sleep (Carpenter, 2001). So it seems that teachers who want maximum mental performance from their students need to consider more sleep as a serious learning strategy, especially if they assign lots of homework that keep their students up late. This infographic I found online outlines the dangers of sleep deprivation and also illustrates the correlation between lack of sleep and a craving for junk foods -- which we have seen is also a major contributor to poor teen health (MindBodyGreen, 2013).
For extra credit, I would assign students to watch this video on YouTube before bed which summarizes the some of the causes and effects of sleep deprivations in people their age. Hopefully, it can convince a few to go to bed earlier.
Meta-reflection: How does knowing about adolescent development help me teach?
One developmental model discussed in class was the Tanner stages which, among other things, illustrates the development of secondary sex characteristics in adolescents (McMahan & Thompson, 2015). The video link below is a short summary of the Tanner stages and what each stage entails.
What is interesting is that females typically enter the Tanner stages of development at an earlier age than boys (McMahan & Thompson, 2015). This brings up something I had never considered before -- considering gender sensitivity when I approach and interact with students. I am confident I can relate to boys because I was once their age and can relate to them on some level by appealing to their culture, or quite simply by being "chilled-out". However, I am not so certain I can use the same approach for my female students.
The fact girls enter puberty earlier leaves them susceptible to issues in self esteem and relationship issues with others simply because they do not feel comfortable in their changing bodies. One form of this is known as asynchronosity: differing rates of change for different body parts during pubertal growth, and it is a major cause of awkwardness and self image issues in teen girls and boys as well (McMahan & Thompson, 2015).
Knowing the potentially delicate mindset of my female students gives me an advantage in preparing how to teach them by highlighting the areas in their lives that causes their insecurities: body image issues. Being a biology teacher provides me with an easy way to subtly incorporate helpful information to girls that may put their minds at ease regarding the many questions they have about their bodies. For example, when teaching the concept of diversity in high school genetics, I would point out -- in passing -- that different developmental rates between people are a completely normal part of human diversity, as is the arrival of secondary sex characteristics, such as pubic hair. Hopefully, this can reassure some students who are particulary early or late to puberty.
Sexual education is important and should not be taken lightly. It is particularly important in the modern age where girls are bombarded with highly sexualized images for what the "standard" female body should be (Brown, Halpern, & L'Engle, 2005). They must be properly educated to understand that there is no set standard and the changes they experience may be very different from their peers'. Since many of the female role models on television depict femininity in a somewhat less-than-accurate manner, my influence as a teacher on my students' ideas of puberty is very important.
Additional Resources
1. European PubMed article that goes into detail about global adolescent nutrition statistics - http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/1123503
2. YouTube video about the top 5 dietary mistakes of most teens - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx0ZTy2SWfk
3. YouTube video with a summary of puberty for girls - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_mFJ2d0qxQ
4. YouTube video with a summary of puberty for boys - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yvw7QGytgNQ
5. YouTube video about a 27 year-old man who has not hit puberty - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eitQYgCqA-0
6. YouTube video about adults retelling embarassing teen stories - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skM80jY5Bfw
7. Cambridge Journals article about the connection between puberty and depression in teens - http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=25591&fileId=S003329179700593X
8. Article about sexual health and STIs in young women - http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Fulltext/2008/05000/Comparison_of_Adolescent_and_Young_Adult.14.aspx
References
Brown, J. D., Halpern, C. T., & L’Engle, K. L. (2005). Mass media as a sexual super peer for early maturing girls. Journal of adolescent Health, 36(5), 420-427.
Carpenter, S. (2001). Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health. Monitor on Psychology, 32(9), 32.
Kumar, N. (2014, October 1). Tanner Stages of Development. Retrieved May 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl84Xh05F1o
KSPS. (2013, October 14). Our supersized kids. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNySc_BIl5k
Lindberg, L. D., Boggess, S., & Williams, S. (2000). Multiple threats: The co-occurrence of teen health risk behaviors.
Liu, L. L., Lawrence, J. M., & Davis, C., (2010). Prevalence of overweight and obesity in youth with diabetes in USA: the SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study. Pediatric diabetes, 11(1), 4-11.
McMahan, I. & Thompson, S. (2015). Adolescence: Canadian edition. Toronto: Pearson.
MindBodyGreen. (2013, April 10). This Is Your Body Without Sleep (Infographic). Retrieved May 13, 2015, from http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-8649/this-is-your-body-without-sleep-infographic.html
SciShow. (2012, August 14). Why our brains love junk food. Retrieved May 13, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMsW2oXors8
Image: public domain - https://www.flickr.com/photos/9009139@N08/1344902986