The Power of Peer-to-Peer Relationships in Adolescence - Essay Sample

Introduction

Peer-to-peer relationships have a significant influence on adolescents and, therefore, determine what happens in teenagers' lives. The teens signify adolescence time and young adults developing autonomy from their guardians and parents and therefore seek refuge in their peers. These peers become their cradle for the emotional and social anchor. They look to their friends for advice about the things going on their lives and are shy about going to an elder person about the same.

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The attitude and approach of growing teens can both be positive and negative to their wellbeing. Secure peer attachments are bound to develop a teenager's wellbeing while having problems in the same way, such as being mistreated by friends can negatively impact the person psychologically, in their academic endeavors, and even socio-emotionally (Stigmar, 2016). The effects go both ways for the perpetrators and the victims of the abuse. Given the vital role of peer to peer relationships in adolescents, a strategy must be developed to make those relationships acceptable and responsive to student diversity.

One strategy that would be used to develop responsiveness and acceptance of diversity among adolescents is to improve language. In this strategy, there would be several languages that would be encouraged for use and others banished, which brings about the diversion. For example, teaching sessions should recognize different language speakers such as ESL and English speakers. The instructor may include other languages in some of the lessons to make everyone feel included. The teaching would also encourage students to air relevant word problems that they have and try to solve it together with the instructor's help. The instructor would also present new concepts with the use of a student's vocabulary as they contribute. Once in a while, they may suggest an external instructor who may higher expertise and relates more with the students in a particular area of study. Since the students here are adolescents are explorative, there can be different forms of delivering the content. For example, they can read articles, fill puzzles, watch videos, or even create artworks as per their diversities. Finally, the media for communication used would depict different cultures positively, as far as the diversity of the students is concerned.

Family/Student Support (3a InTASC)

The school is requested to support the parents who are willing to ensure that their children gain the most from this learning program. In particular, the school and the parents can help the students to purchase materials such as the art canvases, colors, drawing material, and other things required. The teaching staff and parents can also contribute to assessing the work the students do and see any progress (Hui, & Lent, 2018). It would be very encouraging if all the school's academic staff aid in assessing the students on how they relate with their peers in school and see if there are any diversity issues. Parents can also support by watching over the students while at home and assessing how they relate with other people, especially their peers. This way, the effectiveness of the teaching strategy presented would be easy to determine and see if it can push through.

The three ways to get families engaged in their children’s education is through developing partnerships, volunteering, and communication. The school can form alliances with community-based organizations to help parents know how to improve the educational experience of the child better. For example, some organizations may guide the nature of the environment and diets that the child should have for health studies. The second thing is volunteering, where parents are asked to volunteer to work with students in some activities such as field trips. It helps the teachers bond more with the parent’s ad enables the student to see that their education is significant and that they have full support. The last strategy is communication in which the parents are teachers should be in constant contact. It may involve knowing the progress of the student and clarifying issues that include the adults. The parents should also be informed of all the activities the child is engaged in and can be given a chance to suggest different ideas of how better education can be done.

Identifying Your Role as an Educational Advocate for Students

As an educator, I can use my knowledge to advocate for the students in two ways; between the students and the administration and between the students and the parents. Since I spend most of the time with students and learn their needs most, I would be there to help them work out the best from within. Educators can negotiate with the administration for things the students need and advise on issues that may not be approved by the school since they are in a better position to advocate for them (Rodriguez et al., 2018). Secondly, I would advise the parents on the student concerning their behaviors, struggles, and the strengths that can be capitalized on. Therefore, there would be harmony among the three parties: the school administration, the students, and the parents.

References

Hue, K., & Lent, R. W. (2018). The roles of family, culture, and social-cognitive variables in the career interests and goals of Asian American college students. Journal of counseling psychology, 65(1), 98.

Rodriguez, T. L., Mahalingappa, L., Evangeliste, M., & Thoma, L. (2018). Educators Must Be Activists: Advocating for Muslim Students. The European Educational Researcher, 1(2), 117-135.

Stigmar, M. (2016). Peer-to-peer teaching in higher education: A critical literature review. Mentoring & Tutoring: partnership in learning, 24(2), 124-136.