Field Journal Question #3

*Q3. In what psychosocial stage did Erikson say most children in the grade level you observed are functioning? What specific teacher behaviors do you observe that either help or hinder the students to successfully navigate through this stage? What more could or should be done?

Many junior high and most high school students are in stage of Identity versus Role Confusion. When I’m teaching I have to be sure to leave open-ended exploration of ethical issues. As students are looking at questions and scenarios based on themes and issues, I shouldn’t ever make it sound like there are right and wrong answers. I must make it safe to explore the spectrum of possible positions. I can share what I believe (with a sensitivity to content), so I am modeling high-level thinking, but I have to follow that up with an invitation to share their ideas and let them know that there are more than one way to look at an issue. If the goal is to help the students find an integrated self, it is important that I bring in writings of a diverse group of authors. It is especially important when there is a limited amount of diversity in the community. Last year I taught a class on Modern Ethics. I included writings by several modern philosophers that wrote about justice, ethical parenting, personal responsibly for global poverty, consumerism, etc. It was extremely important that I didn’t indicate that the philosophers were absolutely right and tried to encourage the process of intelligently questioning opinions that might differ than one’s own. I had a sign up that gave the steps required for the class: read>understand the writers position>ask questions>form your own opinion.

When I teach kids persuasive essays, it’s a great chance for them to explore their own thoughts and opinions. The fact that it has to be clarified into a arguable thesis helps crystallize their ideas, the supporting ideas make them give concrete support to their argument, and the fact that they have to acknowledge a contrasting opinion and respond to it. This is very helpful in guiding them through the process of examining their positions and see if they can be supported. I need to let the kids know that their viewpoints will constantly be evolving and that is part of creating a healthy unified self.