Part 2:
The first book that I read was: “The Teenage Brain: a neuroscientist’s survival guide to raising adolescents and young adults.” I broke down the 300 pages of information contained within the following pages. It is an extreme trimming down of information and curiosity that I held. You might read it and get something completely different.
Jensen, F. E., & Nutt, A. E. (2016).The teenage brain: A neuroscientist’s survival guide to raising adolescents and young adults. Harper.
Learning: A Job for the Teen Brain
This chapter focused on the actual process of learning. It was interesting to read about because although I have been in the classroom and part of the learning process for many years, it was a helpful refresher.
The chapter broke apart the idea of short-term versus long-term memory and what the brain does when encountering new information. This encounter is one of the hardest to navigate as a teacher because of our constant interaction with our discipline and curriculum. We are around it so much, and often, we forget what it’s like to encounter it as a novice. Thus, we challenge ourselves to view the information as a novice so we can constantly remind ourselves what it was like to discover this information the first time that we did. It is tricky practice but necessary, nonetheless. As a parent, I know that I need to do this to teach my children the skills required to do everything. It’s helpful that they’re young, but the process is still the same.
I enjoyed reading about the ideas of memory and how our memories are always flawed. Jensen and Nutt (2016) write, "In the same way that an otherwise seamless signal comes from your TV as occasionally interrupted, briefly distorting the picture, so too does degradation occur as information races up and down the axons of your brain's neurons. This explains why our memories are never perfect, but have holes and discontinuities, which we occasionally fill in, I bet up consciously, with false information” (P. 73).
I see this with students as the details of their experiences sometimes are altered to promote what their worldview is or what they perceive to be true. I used to teach a class on perspective in which students had to tell me what happened at the football game. I would give them different accounts of the game (Coach, Fans, Mom of a player, cheerleader, referee, college scout, player…). They would not have all the accounts but instead a curated set to prompt them to engage in the discussion about what happened at the game. Students would argue back and forth about the game.
As a result, the point was made that sometimes, people's perceptions influence how they think about what happens before them. I would then segue to how police interact with eyewitnesses and how sometimes these people are unreliable because they inherently will change the story or 'remember' things that could be more accurate. It always makes for a great conversation when I speak to students, and we must challenge our students to understand their perceptions.
Learning Part 2
The second part of this chapter offers advice for parents and educators alike with the understanding and belief in the following focus.
“That, of course, does not really help you in dealing with the here and now you're dizzying confusing teenagers. It's important to remember that even though their brains are at learning at peak efficiency, much else is inefficient, including attention, self-discipline, task completion, and emotions. So, the mantra of one thing at a time is useful to repeat to yourself. Try not to overwhelm your teenagers with instructions. Remember although they look like they can multitask, and in truth they're not very good at it. Even just encouraging them to stop and think about what they need to do and when they need to do it, we'll increase the blood flow to the areas of the brain involved with multitasking and slowly strengthen them” (Jensen & Nutt, 2016, p. 80-81)
The rest of the chapter suggests the following:
1. Write down what you want your teens to do, as well as speak to them about it
a. Limit the instructions to 1-2 points.
2. Teach them how to better manage time and organize tasks. Suggest that they write down their schedules and calendarize so that they can see and begin to train their brains.
3. Set limits – with everything –
a. This is what your adolescent’s “over-exuberant brain can’t do for themselves.”
b. Be clear about the amount of time you allow your teenager to socialize virtually
c. Insist on having usernames and passwords for all of their accounts, and be prepared to enforce your limits by removing the device if need be
Each of these points allows the adult to continue to be the guardrail for your teenager, much like you used to do when you would hold their hand through the parking lot. The authors argue that adults are there to teach teenagers and to be a safety net, even when these individuals do not want you to be there.
Sleep
By far, one of the most slept subjects (haha) is sleep! This chapter focuses on the amount of sleep our teenagers need and follows up with the process that occurs with sleep and why sleep is so important. Sadly, it was not until I was a seasoned educator that this question began to enter the conversation of how to help my students.
Sadly, I feel that our society and culture often overlook the importance of sleep. Good sleep habits are equally as important as a good diet and physical activity. “Memory and learning are thought to be consolidated during sleep, so it's a requirement for adolescence as it is vital to their health as the air, they breathe in the food they eat. In fact, sleep helps teens eat better. It also allows them to manage stress.” (Jensen & Nutt, 2016, p. 89).
According to the authors, the average adolescent requires 9 ¼ hours of sleep a night; surprisingly, only 15% of all American teenagers get that much daily. When this does not occur, the body begins to react quickly. The authors write that the prioritizing of information suffers as well as higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and depression. One study that Jensen and Nutt (2016) cite states that “teenagers who found trouble sleeping at ages 12 to 14 were 2 and 1/2 times more likely to report suicidal thoughts at age 15 to 17 than adolescents with good sleep habits.” That was enough to get my attention and stress the need for a good night's sleep.
The last part of the chapter really got my attention because it concerns the use of cell phones by teenagers. The dangers of cellphones continue to expand because of their effect on students.
“According to one recent study, each teen sends an average of 3300 texts every month girls average more: 4050 texts a month. Researchers at the sleep disturbance clinic at JFK Medical Center in New Jersey estimate that one in five teenagers actually interrupts his or her sleep in order to text. The participants in the study, all who have come to the sleep clinic for sleep issues, reported sending and receiving an average of 34 text every night - after going to bed! These texts were sent and received from 10 minutes to four hours after these teams went to bed, and adolescents were awakened by the text message at least once a night.” (Jensen & Nutt, 2016,p. 97)
This constant interruption and communication could have a negative impact on your teenager’s well-being and their performance at school. The chapter concludes by talking about the effects of caffeine and energy drinks on the sleeping patterns of students.
Taking Risks –
Taking risks can sometimes be at the core of the teenage experience. “Novelty and sensation seeking seem to motivate every eye. And if it’s not about risk-taking, then it’s about rebellion – against parents, against teachers, against anyone in authority” (Jensen & Nutt, 2016, p. 104). Their neurodevelopment adds to this because the brain is seeking to understand the world and discover who they are and their role in the world as they see it. It’s important, ultimately, as it helps establish
their autonomy and helps build resilience and competency. We may not all see it as such, but as our teenagers take on more and more, it shows that they’re trying to stand on their own two feet.
The issue of taking risks, however, is rooted in their brains. “The problem is for teens is that they are underdeveloped frontal cortex means they have trouble seeing ahead, or understanding the consequences of their independent acts, and therefore ill equipped to weigh the relative harms of risky behavior.” (Jensen & Nutt, 2016, p.104). Furthermore, Jensen & Nutt (2016) write that the most significant predictor of adolescent behavior is “not the perception of the risk, but the anticipation of their reward despite the risk.” (P. 105).
This means that teenagers will engage in risky behavior for its perceived win or benefit and are more likely to continue repeating that until they experience a negative consequence. I call this the ‘wakeup call’ or the ‘guardrail check’. There has to be a boundary in place so that our teenagers continue to build on their autonomy while learning that consequences are not always what they intend it to be. It’s a way to provide feedback and debrief with our students about their behaviors.
That brings us to the end of this second part of the review. There is still much to explore, so be sure to stay tuned for the final installment, where Dr. Kidd will cover the concluding aspects and wrap up the discussion!
For any questions related to this book review, please feel free to email us at communications@rivertrail.pto.com.
Dr. Kidd will respond to your inquiries, offering insights from both his perspective as an educator and his detailed reading of the book.
