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Justin Phillips
Dr. Gerrity
Muse 353
28 November 2017
Adolescence Paper
I have been enrolled in MUSE 353. This class is focused around teaching secondary
general music and more importantly, how to teach adolescents. Entering this class, I was
completely uninformed on what adolescents are like and the issues that they face. However,
during this class I have had the opportunity to read about, observe, and complete research on
classroom. While adolescents may encounter more issues than we’ll ever know, I believe I am
more prepared to deal with the issue of behavioral problems. The problems are typically rooted
in deeper issues. I will be able to combat these with adjusted teaching strategies.
While many people may believe that adolescents are wild and just poor behaved, there
may be many underlying reasons why some students may be acting up. For example, a study in
Iceland examined the relationship between negative life experiences (NLE), behavioral
problems, and academic success. The author described a NLE as a stressful, chronic, or traumatic
event. They also recorded the frequency of these advents. 7,291 students between 13 and 15 took
part in a questionnaire. They found an extremely high relationship between all three of these
categories. While the relationship is still modest for girls, it is much more prevalent in boys
(Mann, 2016). Of the boys experiencing NLE in middle school, behavioral problems mediated
100% of the variance in grades (Mann, 2016). The author explains that behavioral problems stem
from NLE, and then poor grades stem from the behavioral problems. The students will cope with
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the NLE by choosing problematic behavior, and that ultimately effects their grades.
This knowledge will be extremely helpful in the field. First, if a student is doing poorly in
my class or misbehaving, I need to remember that there is a possibility the student may be going
through a tough time. I need to be sure that no matter what is going on in their life, the student
feels safe in my classroom. I should never embarrass them in front of the class or yell at them,
this may contribute the negative event they are experiencing. Instead I should talk to them in
private and help the student create a plan for improvement. There are several ways to help
To enforce better behavior, I can use proximity to the students as well as assigned
seating. However, I feel it is a better option to encourage and motivate for good behavior. I can
accomplish this by doing things that they enjoy. In a music classroom this is very tangible.
Instead of just listening to classical music, I can teach concepts through music that they listen to
and enjoy. This will make them more likely to participate and display positive behavior. Thriving
teachers must understand their students’ musical interests and be able to converse about the
music they prefer (Gerber, 1992). I saw this first hand during my observation. When asked to
drum along with an old rock song, many of the students did not participate. Some held their
sticks and talked during it while others didn’t pick up their sticks. Later, the teacher asked the
same thing of them but to a rap song they were familiar with. The students all smiled and began
to drum together. By using activities that the students like, they will be more engaged, willing to
The Character Eric, from Not Much Just Chillin’, follows the trends stated above. He is
going through a negative life experience. His parents are separated, and he lives with his dad and
step mom. He really misses his real mom, and his dad is a truck driver so he doesn’t see him
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often. Eric unfortunately isn’t fond of his step mom, so this puts him in a very difficult place.
Now, his grades are starting to drop. His report card was littered with C’s and D’s. These grades
can stem from his several behavioral problems. He decides to not do his homework and he also
can become a nuisance in class. The exception is when he is doing something he enjoys. He likes
writing and hearing people’s daily logs in English, so he excels in this. When asked why he
doesn’t do his health homework, Eric responds, “I’m just not interested, and when I’m not
interested, I don’t do the work” (Perlstein, 2004). This shows that when a teacher uses activities
and lessons based off of things that students enjoy, they are more likely behave properly,
During adolescence, a child’s behavior may be unpredictable and may vary from good to
bad on any given day. This change may occur because of the environment and more importantly
the peers that the student is with. During this time, children have an increased sensitivity to peer
influence (Hoorn, 2016). This can potentially create many vulnerabilities for kids, but also many
opportunities to encourage good behavior. A study completed in 2016 shows the affects that
peers have on adolescents. Kids from ages 12-16 participated in a public goods game. Four
students would play the game and ten others would watch. The four students were separated and
could not see the decisions the other kids were making. They were given 10 coins and asked to
donate to the group. The class did this 30 times, 3 rounds of 10. On the second round, feedback
was given by the 10 spectators. They could either dislike the decision or like it. Some of the kids
only received likes if they donated a lot of their coins. On the other hand, some students only
received likes if they donated little or none of their coins. On the third round, no feedback was
The results show that the adolescents decisions depended on what their peers liked. If the
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child realized that each of the peers spectating like it when they show antisocial behavior (not
donating), then they donated very little in the activity. The same was found for prosocial
behavior (donating). Regardless of the behavior, the adolescent chose whatever their peers liked
(Hoorn, 2016). This is both good and bad. For example, a student may start acting up and
misbehaving in class if they believe that other students like or enjoy what they are doing. This
means a couple students could potentially create a class of trouble makers. On the other hand, if
an entire class is well behaved, the few trouble makers are less likely to misbehave if the class
would look down on those actions. One way to utilize this in a lesson is to create activities that
uses communication between students. Krystal McCoy writes, “Structuring musical activities
that foster intercommunication among adolescents (such as the use of cooperative learning
techniques) may yield more positive results over the traditional, teacher-led classroom” (McCoy,
2012). Using activities that cause interaction between students not only helps adolescents
develop socially, but it will also improve their behavior and yield better results.
Because of the high peer influence that adolescents face, it is crucial to create a classroom
where students value good behavior. For example, in a class where the majority of students are
participating and having fun, other students are more likely to join in. In order to create this fun
environment that students enjoy, a teacher can do several things. First, a secondary general music
classroom should not be a lecture. Students should not learn from listening to the teacher explain
the concepts. Instead, students should learn from using the artistic processes. They should
actually be performing and creating with the concept. By having the students learn this way they
are more likely to enjoy and participate in the class, which will result in better behavior from the
class. I can also motivate participation by giving the students a sense of accomplish and pride
over what they have done. A teacher should give back as much positive feedback to the students
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as possible. As well as abstaining from giving negative feedback. Instead, try offering tips on
how to improve without telling them their work was poor. This sense of accomplishment should
motivate students to engage and participate in lessons, which will also cause more participation.
After completing this research, it is very obvious that adolescents’ behavior is very
unpredictable. This is an extremely chaotic time in their life. As their self-identity begins to form
and change, their behavior will vary greatly. However, it is crucial to be patient and realize what
might be causing this behavior. It may be because of external forces at home, or internal forces
in the classroom. The teacher is able to combat this by creating a positive classroom
environment. This is a classroom where students work together, have fun and participate, respect
good behavior, and most importantly; is focused on the students. These strategies will encourage
good behavior and ultimately help guide a healthy development through adolescence.
Works Cited
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Burton, Suzanne L. Engaging musical practices: a sourcebook for middle school general music.
Gerber, Timothy. “Meeting the Challenge of Middle School Teaching.” Music Educators Journal
Hoorn, Jorien, et al. "Peer Influence on Prosocial Behavior in Adolescence." Journal of Research
on Adolescence (Wiley-Blackwell), vol. 26, no. 1, Mar. 2016, pp. 90-100. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1111/jora.12173.
Mann, Michael J., et al. "The Influence of Negative Life Events and Problem Behavior on
Grades in Early Adolescence: Pathways to Academic Risk in the Middle Grades." Research in
Middle Level Education Online, vol. 39, no. 10, Dec. 2016, pp. 1-13. EBSCOhost,
doi:10.1080/19404476.2016.1244402.
Perlstein, Linda. Not much, just chillin: the hidden lives of middle schoolers. Farrar, Straus and
Giroux, 2004.