While Help Yourself,
YourSELF! is a result of many factors, the core of the project revolves
around the theories and ideas of three individuals: Dr.
John Arnold, Charity James, and Don
Wells.
 |
John
Arnold
Educator, Adolescent Development |
KEY COMPONENTS
OF THEORY:
- The middle
school curriculum is critical for empowering early adolescents.
- The curriculum
should respect adolescents' abilities and potentials.
- The curriculum
should allow students more control over their learning.
- The curriculum
should help students discover who they are and make sense of their
world.
- The curriculum
should encourage students to contribute to the well-being of others.
- The curriculum
should help students understand and react to those social forces
that would seek to exploit them.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
LEARNING:
- Students should
have some say in what and how they learn.
- Students must
take charge of their learning experiences.
- Outside classroom
experiences with the adult world are vital in the learning process.
- Meaningful
relationships with adults will help students gain focus.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
TEACHING:
- Engage students
in "active" endeavors and hands-on learning.
- Give students
considerable control over their learning.
- Engage them
in meaningful tasks and encourage them to contribute.
- Students should
have meaningful interaction with adults through their learning experiences.
For further reading
and information, please read John Arnold's article A
Curriculum to Empower Young Adolescents (in PDF format) published
by the National Middle School Association as an occasional paper.
Charity
James
Social/Emotional Development, Need Polarities
KEY COMPONENTS
OF THEORY:
- The needs of
adolescents fall into key polarities: the need to need/the need
to be needed, the need to move inwards/the need to affect the outer
world, the need for routine/the need for intensity, the need for
myth and legend/the need for fact, the need for stillness/the need
for activity, the need for separateness/the need for belonging.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
LEARNING:
- Adolescent
learners stay engaged when their emotional, physical and intellectual
needs are being addressed.
IMPLICATIONS FOR
TEACHING:
- Teaching should
be individualized to meet student needs. When teachers recognize,
understand and meet the needs of adolescents, students will enjoy
learning and be more productive. When needs are met, communication
gaps and problems are reduced.
For further reading
and information, please read Charity James' article On
the Needs of Adolescents
(in PDF format). Also, please review a
revision of this article completed by students at Capital Breakthrough,
led by Matthew Ross.
Don Wells
Former Headmaster of Carolina Friends School, Durham, NC
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2003. NC State University. All Rights
Reserved.
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