The Difference Between Western Society Attitudes to Puberty and Religious Attitudes and Beliefs Towards Puberty
For our Theatre In Education (T.I.E.) piece we decided to tackle the
issue of puberty and the different changes boys and girls go through
during this, sometimes difficult, stages of their lives.
We decided to do in this in an effort to teach younger pupils in the
school a little more about puberty and set aside the fact from the
fiction.
We aimed to do this by performing a series of our own short
sketches-each with a different theme and issue to tackle, for example,
pubic hair, periods and hormones. By doing this we hoped to shed a bit
more light on issues which can worry some people and explain the
matters in a grown-up way. We also wanted to make sure that what we
were saying was getting through in a positive way so as to teach the
pupils a little more about puberty.
From doing this exercise we realised that the Western attitude towards
puberty is very relaxed and does not signify a great deal. We also
realised that some people can become embarrassed by the issue and most
people avoid it altogether.
However, this is not the case in a lot of other cultures, in fact, far
from it.
For young female Hindu's puberty marks the change from a girl to a
woman in the eyes of family and friends.
A Hindu girl experiencing her first period will spend the first four
nights of bleeding in a stable away form the rest of the family. This
is because Hindu's do not look favourably on the menstrual cycle and
believe that a woman who is on her period is 'polluted and potentially
polluting.' During the menstrual cycle Hindu females must not enter
the house, fetch water or cook any food. These rules also apply to
even the young adolescent female who has just started puberty.
On the final day of bleeding the adolescent must go into a stream,
wash her body, hair, clothes, rug and the bowl she kept separate for
education by the students learning how to look beyond instructions and the students are free to
Adolescence is a transition which has no fixed time limits. However, the changes that occur at this time are so significant that it is useful to talk about adolescence as a distinct period of human life cycle. This period ranges from biological changes to changes in behavior and social status, thus making it difficult to specify its limits exactly (Damon, 2008). Adolescence begins with puberty, i.e. a series of physiological changes that lead to full development of the sexual organs and the ability to breed and sex. The time interval that elapses begins at 11 to 12 years and extends to 18 to 20. However we cannot associate to a 13 with one 18 years. Let us talk about early adolescence between 11 to 14 years, which coincides with puberty, and after a second period of youth, or late adolescence between 15-20 years. Its extension to adulthood depends on social, cultural, environmental as well as personal adaptation.
I will introduce the perils of puberty Girls and Boys experience, presented by David Elkind. Through open discussion with students, they will list the major changes Girls and Boys go through. A visual aid of a boy and a girl will be posted for students to look at and list the changes next the appropriate gender.
...om environment as a whole. The pupils seemed to thrive under these new techniques for teaching and their motivation for class activities continually grew with my new attitude to teaching. I also found my teaching to be a lot better as a result as I engaged much more with the pupils are our pupil-teacher relationship blossomed around this change in assumption
Prolonged adolescence is also affected by cultural changes, like sexual attitude and practices. “Cultural changes, such as the post 1960s shift in sexual attitudes and practices, have also slowed what was once a rush into adult roles. Fifty years ago, premarital sex was still highly stigmatized. Although the stigma did not deter many young couples from breeching the norms, marriage served as a safety net in the event of a premarital pregnancy. Today, most young people expect to have sex before marriage and have the means to prevent unwanted childbearing.” (Future of Children 4) Since the 1960s, premarital sex has been labeled as “okay” and music and movies are all about influencing the idea that young people should be free to do what they
By doing these activities with the children, one the teacher will be able to show kids other everyday activities they might not get exposed to regularly and have better understanding of what goes on in their lives. Once the
This allows students to see first hand what it takes and what is expected of
These include puberty. Puberty is the transition of a child's body to that of an adult (Forbes & Dahl, 2010). It is an important aspect of the adolescent stage of life. Individuals experience puberty at different times. According to Allnut, Gordon & Hillege (2014), puberty involves maturation of genitalia, development of a body hair, voice change and facial hair for boys and menstruation for girls. It is divided into three stages. The first stage involves secondary sex characteristics, which allow differentiate of male and female start to develop. It is called pre-pubescence. The second stage is pubescence where the reproduce organs produce ova and sperm and secondary sex characteristics continue to develop. The last and finial stage is the post pubescence. By this stage secondary sex characteristics development has reached maturity. In addition the reproductive system fully function (Allnut et al., 2014). Although puberty is something every individual experience, gender differentiates the nature of experience. If for example an adolescent who is motherless has begins her menstruation but find the situation difficult and uncomfortable to discuss with her father. With regards to statement 7.7 of the National Competency Standards for the Registered Nurse (Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia, 2006), a nurse may educate on the normality of the body changes occurring to the young women. As the
The education of children has existed since the beginning of time as parents have taught and molded their children into the young adults they desired them to be. Initial training of children was not in a formal setting, although history would see numerous settings, purposes, and methodological changes. Philosophies of education have also changed through the years as various voices have seemed to grasp the purpose of educating the next generation, thus laying out objectives to reach those goals of teaching children.
Adolescence is not cultural universal. In some societies, young children go straight from childhood to the adult life once they have done the necessary puberty rites. Puberty rites are formal ceremonies that mark the entrance of young people into the adult life. People at the age of 13 to 14 that completed these puberty rites can become accepted into the adult society.
Each year, as a new group of students enter my classroom, I will encourage them to be expressive of their imaginations in their favorite subjects, whether it will be art, literature, math or music. We all have rules and regulations to follow, and each student will know that there is no exception in the school or the classroom. Another goal in my classroom will be to keep the students excited about learning, not to treat school as a game or a social event, but to encourage a unique and fun atmosphere to learn.
In America, a significant problem we should look at is regarding sexually active young teens. It seems that almost every teen is sexually active. They are having sex at such a early age. A question that rings in our minds, is do they truly even know what sex is? Growing up, Catholic teachings instructed myself to wait until marriage. They say premarital sex is a sin. Now, not only are churches teaching abstinence, but, schools as well. Premarital sex is a important growing problem: that usually results in a unwanted pregnancy, in some cases; forced abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, ultimate emotions of remorse. Sexual relations among teens is a problem not only for them, but possibly their children and America as a whole.
In example, according to the Euro-Western view, adolescence is characterised by the interaction between the individual’s biological development and the demands requested by the industrial and post-industrial societies. Although adolescence is globally referred to as the period in life that groups individuals from 12 to 18 years, each individual’s development varies within different countries and cultures. According to the Euro-Western world, adolescence is a time in life that is characterised by experimentation, fun as well as personal growth that will later lead the individual to become a full adult. However, not every young individual experiences this positive and fun side of this life stage. In fact, adolescence is characterised by the hormonal changes that occur during puberty, which are argued to influence adolescents’ behaviour. Hall (cited in Drewery and Claiborne, 2010) argued that due to the effects caused by puberty, young individuals often experience tension, conflicts with their parents and peers, as well as critical mood changes. In line with Hall, Freud (cited in Drewery and Claiborne, 2010) argues that adolescence is a life stage in which it is hard to maintain a steady equilibrium. For these reasons, adolescence can still be considered a “problematic” stage in life, yet it is not necessary true that these conflicts are triggered by biological changes (Drewery and Claiborne,
During middle childhood, children are experiencing physical changes as they go from early childhood to middle childhood. Zembar and Blume (2009) write that, “School-age children undergo rapid spurts in height and weight as well as improvement in athletic abilities. They begin the onset of puberty at varied ages, with 11 years the average age for girls and 13 years for boys, marked first by hormonal changes, followed by observable changes in physical appearance and behavior”(Zembar & Blume,2009). Also during this time, children experience puberty which may be a new experience for them. Parents can encourage a positive transition through puberty by helping their child feel comfortable about the changes by talking with them about puberty and helping them adjust.
The biggest challenge before a teacher is the presentation of a lesson. If a lesson presentation is effective, students can reach the goals of life by acquisition of knowledge; and if the teacher is unsuccessful in his presentation, it is impossible to achieve the educational objectives. The method of teaching is directly related to the presentation of the lesson. The method of teaching depends on the nature of the subject, and the tact of the teacher. This essay is aimed at assessing teaching methods and strategies used in schools and discuss innovations that should take place to make them more effective and learner centred. Brandes and Ginnis (1996:167) acknowledge that the movement from established well-known ground to explore new teaching strategies is a tough challenge to teachers.