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February 07, 2007
The Clown, My Heart (p. 9)
The poem, "The Clown, My Heart" by Sandra Cisneros, describes the variety of feelings that our heart can experience. What are some of the adolescent experiences that kids hearts are effected by in our world today? As teachers of adolescents' what directions do you think the hearts of kids are turning to most in our society?
Posted by Megan Anderson at February 7, 2007 05:34 PM | The Body Eclectic
Comments
I think that some of the things that affect childs hearts are love, crushes, body image, friends, family troubles, rumors, gossip, and the constant need to fit in. As a teacher something major that I think that affects all kids hearts would be the need to fit in. No matter what, you always think you could be better or your not making everyone happy. That can be very overwhelming and scary and that is a burden on everyones heart.
Posted by: Jessica Tewalt at February 10, 2007 02:11 PM
I agree with Jessica. Adolescents live their lives with passion, often wearing their hearts on their sleeves. They are always in love, in a fight with a best friend, are embroiled in the gossip chain and live under the microscope of the social world within the world of school. They are super critical of themselves and are often beset with feelings of inadequacy. Their bodies are growing at different rates, and they are acutely aware of pop culture, and what they think they should look like as an adolescent. Often these images are not realistic, causing insecurity. They desparately want to fit in, and this need rules their world. Kids' hearts are vulnerable to hurt at a critical time in their life- teachers should be aware of this and understand the volatility that sometimes goes hand in hand with teens.
Posted by: Mary Wright at February 14, 2007 05:37 PM
Jessica and Mary both bring up good points, I remember back to when I was an adolscent and there were such little events in my life that seemed, at the time, like the biggest deal (crushes, gossip, rumors, Body image). At this time, adolscents just need guidance from their teachers to continue going in the direction that makes them the most happy. There will be hard times, and thier teacher needs to be there as a positive influence to make the classroom and place that they look forward to spending time in.
Posted by: Kaylee Mitchell at February 18, 2007 01:59 PM
I also agree with Mary and Jessica but I think Kaylee makes a very good point. While all adolescents deal with the issue of body image and the constant and overwhelming need to fit in, it is important that we as teachers help them to see the good in themselves. If we ourselves can be a positive role model showing kids that one can be comfortable in their own skin then they too may start to feel this way. I truly believe that "fitting in" comes with confidence in oneself. As teachers we have the ability to influence and to show kids that they can be confident with who they are and where they come from.
Posted by: Elizabeth Lensing at March 20, 2007 07:05 PM
I think everyone has brought up very good points. Peer pressure is also something that they deal with. They definently show their emotions, partly because they do not know how to deal with them yet. They are getting all these new feelings and going through all these new experiences. All they want to do is fit in and be happy.
Posted by: Amanda Green at May 2, 2007 06:45 PM
I think that as an adolescent today there are so many different pressures from peers and media that it has to leave an impression on their hearts. They are desparately wanting to grow up, and to do so they are ignoring the fact that they are still children.
Posted by: Heather Sirois at May 3, 2007 06:01 PM
I think that adolescents today are dealing with the things that adolescents have always dealt with and more. They deal with feeling self conscious, wanting to fit in, and leaving childhood behind, but not yet being an adult. At the same time, they are very emotional and hormones make it seem like these problems are the biggest things in their world and it seems like they will never go away. What makes it harder is that adolescents today are going through even more things and expected to act more like adults. I think that a lot of kids today are growing up faster and making the decisions that adults would usually make and they do it as a way to survive adolescence.
Posted by: Sarah Stewart at May 5, 2007 01:36 PM