Navigating Adolescence: A Teenagers Perspective on Education, Family, and Peer Influences

Abstract

Adolescent Development Introduction One can argue human growth and development as a gradual process that revolves around several developmental stages. The adolescent stage is among humans' most exciting and stressful developmental stages. The teenage stage exposes the childish being to physical, emotional, and biological changes in their bodies and mind, thus the need to remain considerate while dealing with such characters to enhance a successful transmission. Education, families/parenting, and peers are this essay's primary three aspects of adolescent development of concern. It is imperative to note that the three areas mentioned above of adolescent development offer concise analysis of what it takes to experience this stage in real life based on responses from a chosen adolescent. Education is the key to success; thus, the need to understand what it takes to balance education pressures with adolescent pressures from a real-life perception. Family/parenting relationships prove a strong pillar during human growth and more so during adolescence, thus the need to understand adolescent experiences in their familiar relationships. Last but not least, peers define the social being during adolescence, hence the need to analyze their effects on shaping the maturing character. The responses from Sarai offer clear insight into the impacts of the three aspects mentioned above on adolescent development in her life. Sarai is the main interviewee in this project. She is a teenager heading 11th grade and thus fit for the interview concerning adolescent development experiences. Sarai’s family originates from El Salvador, where she lives with her nuclear family. The family comprises a niece, a nephew, and her brother's girlfriend. The interviewee argues that she gets along well with her family members as respect is among the most treasured values within the family. Interestingly, Sarai confirms that she does not see any need for change within the family as love dominates. However, she describes her parents as lenient, with the dad being demanding and a little dictatorial to her brothers. Sarai is closer to her mother than her father. Education-wise, Sarai confirms that her academic performance has not changed, just like in her past years. She prioritizes education over her other responsibilities, which is an effective approach during this developmental stage. Sarai's self-esteem is still intact as she confirms to engage in social life with her peers, make new friends and ask her teacher questions that some students fear asking. She confronts lonely students, mingles with them, and makes friends out of them with minimum challenges. The interviewee offered insights on the need to be real during this stage. Though she does not express so many changes in her everyday life, it is clear that her social life has experienced dramatic changes attributed to the dire urge to social media connectivity, precisely Netflix. Networking using her phone takes most of her free time. It is also clear that peer influence is at its best during this stage, as Sarai confirms that her friends positively influence her to do the right thing. Choosing Sarai is relevant to this project as she is a potential victim of the project's problem of study; thus, her responses are of value in analyzing real-life experiences during the adolescent development stage. Education Education is crucial in human development as it shapes character through knowledge and skills. The adolescent stage involves a tough transition between childhoods to early adulthood, thus the need to analyze the effects of education during this stage. In this semester's adolescent development class, the text emphasizes transition concepts in the education system during adolescence (Steinberg, 2019). It is imperative to note that during adolescence, the victims must transition from middle to high school, which proves challenging to many. The transition process exposes the childish mind to a harsh environment that demands abrupt change to adapt. Unlike in middle schools, where the student remains under the control of limited forces within and around them, the high school requires more independency and maturity, which with unlimited guidance and understanding, can have adverse effects on the adolescent. To this effect, in most instances, unsuccessful transition negatively impacts the student's academic performance. The concept of tracking is another topic of relevance that the textbook analyzed concerning education effects on students during adolescence (Steinberg, 2019). Extra curriculum activities are also very crucial during adolescence as they help regenerate and define hidden potentials within a student. It is the involvement of an adolescent in such activities that express their unchanged attitude towards education and public life or vice-versa. Tracking helps analyze an individual's strengths, enhancing ability group development in schools. It is an old practice that might have adverse effects on students during this sensitive development stage as it can make them forget their worth resulting in school burn-outs or academic performance failure in the long run. Regarding education, Sarai offers credible responses to rely upon while analyzing the effects of education during adolescent development. Sarai confirms that she chose the catholic school due to the comfort and satisfaction that the school offers to accommodate its students. She confirms that the stage though transiting to 11th grade has not changed most of her academic potential attributed to her focus on education regardless of...