Age Of Opportunity : Lessons From The New Science Of Adolescence

In America, the government spends a lot of money on the education system. Yet some schools or universities may have an advantage in funding which can provide

Adolescence is popularly known to be a very tumultuous stage in a person’s life. In the adolescent stage (also coined the identity vs. role confusion stage by theorist Erik Erikson) bodies are changing rapidly, emotions are unfamiliar and unexplainable, and refraining from succumbing to peer pressure is more challenging than ever.

The author of the article states that there is no better time than now to review how we are raising teenagers for many reasons. First and foremost there have been many strides taken recently to understand how the adolescent brain develops, strengthening ones understanding, and in turn, shedding light on errors made in the way adolescents are being raised in relation to their neuro-development. This means that because scientists have learned substantial information about the brain recently, it is important to reevaluate how parents are raising teenagers now more than ever. Second, according to the article it is a good time to review how we are raising teenagers because children are becoming adolescents earlier based on their physical maturation increasing faster each year, therefore it is important to examine why this is occurring. Finally, the author states that there is no better time to review how we are raising teenagers because of the recent discovery that the brain is malleable during adolescence due to neuroplasticity, meaning that the brain is able to be transformed during this time period solely based on the environment in which these individuals are exposed to, as per the article (Steinberg, 2014).

Along with the average tuition increasing, so has the average income of Americans. In order to afford college tuition, student loans, financial aid, and scholarships come in handy for the time being. Unfortunately, American’s who have finished college still have a load of debt to pay off for many years after graduating. Americans are spending money they don 't have to finance educations they are not sure are worth it. In some cases, students who find jobs right out of high school are left without college debt, but also without a degree. On the other hand, many people who attend college have large college debts yet have a decent

Puberty in essence is a life changing event for males and females, typically following a time of significant physical growth. Puberty is the stage in life when secondary sex characteristics are developing, sexual organs mature due to production of sex hormones. This naturally occurs during adolescence, the stage in life between childhood and adulthood. Nonetheless, Feldman (2014) points out the fact that physical changes begin earlier for girls typically at the age of 10, with sexual organ development generally around the ages of 11-12. On the other hand, physical changes for boys, frequently occurs later, around the age of 12, with development of sexual organs around the age of 13-14. Nevertheless there has been a trend towards early maturation of both male and females, this can bring about advantages and disadvantages for both sexes (Feldman, 2014). This author will discuss the pros and cons of early versus late maturation in boys versus girls in 21st century U.S. society as well as how media reinforces maturation for pre-teens and teens.

In this paper I plan to discuss the developmental stages of adolescence. Adolescents are also referred to as "teenagers" or "young adults." Adolescence begins after the childhood stage and ends right before adulthood. The years of adolescence range from 12 years old to 21 years old. The years of adolescence can be quite a roller coaster ride. Young people in this stage encounter a great deal of changes in their life as they prepare for adulthood. I will discuss emotional, intellectual, physiological, and social domains of development and how it relates to adolescents. I will also discuss some helpful tips for teachers to aide in communicating effectively to adolescents and understanding their

“College is part of the American Dream, it shouldn’t be a part of a financial nightmare for families” - Barbara Mikulski, United States Senator. Student debt is a rising issue in America; 43.3 million students are in debt at this moment, and this number increases every year. In other developed countries, education is free or low cost and works well economically. Countries like Germany, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, and France have extremely affordable college tuition, so what do these countries do to make education so affordable? What do American politicians and citizens find wrong with free or lower cost college education? How should America go about solving this issue and follow other countries footsteps? Just how bad is America’s student debt

There is an issue in the United States that a large portion of the population is either choosing to ignore or is simply naïve to the facts. I am a firm believer that poverty is directly associated to education. Research has backed this theory as it shows that 53% of those classified in upper class are college graduates compared to only 15% of whom identify as lower class (Parker, 2012). While there has been a lot of research conducted on who the upper class are and what the lower class need in order to bring themselves out of poverty there has been little to no change in funding practices of public education. If the end state goal of public education is to produce our countries future why are Americans not taking a more aggressive financial

According to 10 Things, Public Education In America Is Getting Right “It Is Inclusive - School is available to all American “school-age” citizens. It’s not like that everywhere else in the world.” Our schools in America can be found anywhere else it available to every in America. This helps schools in growth and how much the government pays the to build up they schools. Also how many students depends on how much they get paid. According to the same article “Funding -This is America, and if there’s one thing Americans can do it's spending money. We fund education annually to the tune of a projected $821 billion in 2013. If it can be bought (it can’t), we’ll figure it out.” We can afford it, unlike other counties. If it helps we can get it one way or other. We have the power and money to do it.Money is not any issue for us but for many it is that's why we are different. According to the same article “It’s difficult to say what it’s like planet-wide so it very well not be a strength of American schools, but the relationships between teachers and students in many of the top classrooms in the United States is very strong, with teachers acting as mentors, guides, content experts, and compasses to navigate our increasingly crazy world.” The students are close with the teachers. Also, the school never fails the student. The student can get this help and succeed.This helps out our future and teacher do not give up on

As the nation with the most expensive system of higher education in the developed world, not only do students in the USA borrow much more substantial amounts of money to meet escalating college costs, the USA is in fact the only country on the planet where their combined student debt - altogether equaling between $902 billion and -$1.2 trillion - outpaces all other types of consumer debt (“College Debt Crisis,” 2013).

However, according to data, in 1977, a Pell Grant could cover for 116% of all tuition expenses at a university, and in 2012, it could only covered for less than 46% (“Ivory Tower”). This problem has even caused an extensive issue with student loan debt. It has been estimated that the government makes over a $188 billion on profits (loans) from students trying to receive a higher education in search of a better future (“Ivory Tower”). This is a major economic problem that has elevated over the years and will soon lead to an economic collapse if the political issues are not addressed correctly since there’s a very close correlation between these two factors. As many experts state: “What is driving costs is the metastasizing army of administrators with bloated salaries, and our

This paper is will focus on the influences of physical and cognitive development in adolescence from 12 to 18 years of age. This part of the developmental stage has many factors that affect the physical development as well as the cognitive development in adolescence. In addition to influences of physical and cognitive development this paper will also focus on the hereditary and environmental influences that make up this stage in life.

In America, there is a lot of money that goes towards education but some school districts get more money than other school districts. America spends the most on education than any other country but they are not distributing the money the right way. Money is not only the problem with education but the gap between

Adolescence is both a social and cultural construct as well as biological one, it is the developmental period where one transition from being a child to adult and face biological, psychological, and social challenges. This challenging, and important time in between childhood and adulthood has caused a lot of interest in the psychological field and a number of theories have been developed in order to try and explain the different stages of development. One of the most significant models of psychosocial development was created by Erikson (1963) and the stage related to adolescents is known as the “Identity vs. Role-Diffusion”, where the one is in constant pursuit of a coherent sense of self during the teenage years. When the teenager is unable to put together aspects of themselves they experience role-diffusion. Later on Elkind (1967) introduced his theory of adolescent egocentrism, explaining the increase in preoccupation with oneself during the teenage years. Kohlberg (1969) quickly followed up with his theory of moral development, in order to examine how adolescents develop their ability to solve ethical dilemmas. Another challenge teenagers need to face is mental health. The psychological part of striving for independence, while still struggling with identity formation and having poor coping strategies can have serious consequences and lead to mental illnesses, such as depression which is a growing concern among youths. This essay will further examine to what extent

Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the