Feels Like a Lack of Teen "Velcro"

 8/22/05 The school district in which I work opens to students in two weeks. Although I have been in the education field for thirteen years, I am new to the district and as a "newbie," rquired to attend a few days of professional development. The topic of todays's session struck a chord with me as I was thinking about posting on the blog today--connectivity.

The context for this conversation was how teacher's can facilitate the creation of a connection between themself and the student, as well as creating a means for student's to connect with the work they are studying. It occurred to me that many students, and adults, are connected primarily by their LACK of feeling a connection with anything. This "connection," cultivated between the student and text (or student and teacher), can be thought of as a sort of "velcro."

One might suggest that this feeling of alienation is part of an unwritten rite of passage through which society moves its children from tweenhood to adulthood. Pop-culture feeds kids a steady stream of images and sounds which suggest that part of being a teen is rebelling and being different. It also appear that where we as a society fall short with some teens is inviting them back into the "fold"--supplying the velcro to create a sense of attachment with the community in which we discretely suggested they disconnect from.

Part of the price of membership in community(ies)--workplace, family, town, city, country, and culture, is the need for all adults to accept a share of the burden in distributing the velcro. The way in which we, as adults, begin to facilitate a connection is to begin to make appropriate, positive connections with those teens (children) with whom we interact on a daily basis.

Any thoughts you might wish to post about this topic on the comments board would be greatly appreciated!