The word adolescent is a very broad term; about from 6th grade to 12th grade, kids are considered adolescents. Biologically, mentally, physically, and emotionally these kids have a lot changing in their lives. Not to mention the events and happenings outside of their own body. Watching them travel through their live in survival mode is terrifying and strikingly interesting. They must juggle, family, friends, work, school, sports, hobbies, and eventually prepare themselves to graduate high school and continue their education in college. Usually, one of the subjects gets left behind, while the others only receive a portion of the student’s time and energy. They are stretched to the max and incredibly thin. In the middle of all the back and forth students today are cannot be torn from their electronics. Technology plays a huge role in their lives. Students have one ear plug in their ear while they are texting, on the computer and listening to lectures. How are these kids able to do so much at once and still able to understand what is going on around them?
The IKid generation is a complex group of students that are creating more questions rather than answers. How are future educators supposing to keep their students engaged and involved in the classroom, when they are so stimulated by the world around them? Students can access the Internet at the tip of their fingertips, and make weekend plans in a matter of seconds. As educators we need to find that happy medium, using technology and other methods of teaching to keep our students excited about learning.
During the book Speak students are disconnected from their teachers and each other. There are clans with in schools, those who fit within a specific group of people because of their hobbies, background or goals. There is little communication or interaction between clans, until they are mixed up and in the classroom. It is very important that students are able to successfully communicate with their peers and teachers in the classroom. Laurie Anderson provides a classic example of the lack of communication and interest between students and teachers. "My Spanish teacher is going to try to get through the entire year without speaking English to us. This is both amusing and useful- makes it much easier to ignore her.” (Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson)
As future educators we need to understand that being an adolescent is a difficult period of time for our students, they are going to try and escape any way they can from the stress around them. The best and easiest way they can escape is through technology. We need to pull them back, reach out and let them know there are many awesome things in the world they can experience and in an Art classroom they are able to express themselves in a way they can not normally outside of the classroom. We can provide them with the tools to succeed and push their creative limits.
3 comments:
As big as I am on the creative uses of technology and the need to incorporate them in art education, I'm also 100% behind the notion that art ed provides an alternative, horizon-expanding option for our students. They will naturally be spending time in the digital domain because that's just the way the world is going--the wild thing is that for "digital natives" getting their hands dirty with real live artworks and processes may represent an exciting and novel way of communicating and thinking!
Students do seem to rely upon technology and its easy access to escape the many stresses of their lives. Since iKids have been raised with these tools I think it is only natural for them to use computers, ipods, phones, videogames, etc. to decompress but I also believe that they need to be taught many of the other awesome outlets available to them. An art room can show and teach dozens of mediums to these adolescents giving them new tools for their tool belt. It also teaches them to slow down and really think about one thing at a time and really dive into a single idea.
Providing students with mannnnyyy tools is the way to give them expression!
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