Early Adolescence - A Time of Change
The ages from ten to fourteen are marked by some of the most dramatic physical, social, emotional, and intellectual changes a person will have in a lifetime. It’s not surprising that the students who leave middle school after eighth grade are significantly different than when they entered fifth grade as primary grade children. The changes that students encounter during these years can be drastic, but they aren’t always evenly paced. Physical changes in height and weight, voice, foot size, coordination and sexual development occur on uneven timelines. Boys and girls do not mature at the same time, just as individuals within each gender mature at different rates. It is not unusual, for instance, to have seventh graders that will vary in height by up to two feet.
Emotions can also be tumultuous for the developing student. Early adolescents can be exuberant one moment and sad the next; at times they have the self-confidence to overcome any obstacle, while on different occasions a critical look from a friend can decimate their egos. Independence is an emotion they will fight hard for in one instant, but they yearn for hugs and reassurance in another.
The rapid changes frequently lead to conflict and stress as students try to figure out who they are and what they will become. The common theme of the early adolescent is "Am I normal?" The question is easy to understand when you consider that students are leaving the stability of known emotions and comfortable bodies, and replacing it with the unknown of change.
The paradox for early adolescents is that at the very time they are feeling more "adult" and want to be treated like adults, they are experiencing the rocky road that goes with growing up. They feel less confident, worry more, become more forgetful, can be irritable, tearful, and also agonize over the expectations of peers. Frankly, being an early adolescent is challenging for both the students and those in their environment.
Although many of the changes are difficult, early adolescents accentuate numerous positive developments. They have boundless energy and excitement, which when directed, can produce amazing results. Their sense of humor and eagerness to learn about the world around them make middle school environments exciting places to be. Students begin to develop abstract thinking abilities that allow them to consider the difficult issues of the world in ways they haven’t before. Finally, they exhibit remarkable displays of maturity coupled with innocence. At one moment they can be concerned about a world problem like global warming and in another instant be focused on the life of the family pet.
However your child develops, it is clear that there is not one mold for a middle school student. There is not one right way to grow up in early adolescence. In a strange way, the norm of early adolescence is that there is no norm. Being open to the changing circumstances of the age will allow all to capitalize on the strengths of the early adolescent and handle the inevitable stresses.
