High school is a time of intense peer pressure. Many students are delving into who they really want to be and change their personalities and their style of dressing frequently. Other students have found their identity and yet may be in conflict because their chosen identity is so far from the norm at their school. Some students may handle this with aplomb, caring what only they themselves think; other students who are outside the norm may be wracked with conflict over who they want to be and how other people including peer, family, and society in general want them to be.
There are many ways to help students who are in conflict over their life choices. A few ideas include:
Diverse Literature
It is very important to have students read literature about all different cultures and all different kinds of people. Literature helps teenagers open their minds to worlds incredibly different from the area where they reside. Help teenagers who feel “different” understand, via reading literature, that there are many different kinds of places where cultural norms vary tremendously. There is a place for everyone on this earth. Some students feel they fit in where they are from and others go to build a new life in different and often distant places where they feel they can be who they need to be.
Journal Writing
Journal writing is tremendously helpful to high school students. A “Do Now” that includes 5-10 minutes of journal writing gives teenagers some quiet time during the hectic school day to reflect on their thoughts. Writing is also very therapeutic; it helps teenagers sort through chaotic thoughts about the future.
Writing also helps alleviate the stress of peer pressure. High school students spend too much time thinking about what peers think about them and not enough time doing self analysis to delve into what is truly important to them. Journal writing helps students quiet the ruckus in their minds and really think about their own life.
Decorate with Diversity
Use some posters and art in the classroom that reflect the diversity of the world. Strive to create a classroom full of decorative features that help students see that the world is full of many different types of people, places, activities, and cultures.
Also, make posters that are enlargements of famous speeches that talk about individuality, freedom, and the pursuit of creativity and education. This helps students see that being unique is a very special thing.
Articles about Unique People in Business, the Arts, and Other Careers
Use articles about unique people in business, the arts, and other careers as a teaching tool. Discuss the articles with the class and help students understand that for certain people looking and acting outside of the “norm” of society is an integral part of who they are.
Ask Guidance Department for Resources
The Guidance department typically has a wealth of resources available to teachers to help them ensure their students are building good self esteem and value who they are. Also, always touch base with Guidance throughout the year to get updated information about opportunities available to students to participate in out of school seminars or classes that may be of interest to their future career goals too. When students start to take classes with other students with their same interests it often greatly helps them build a comfort level in the world.
Each student is special and unique. Some students though present themselves in a way that is outside the norm. Help all students, particularly these “unique” students learn how to celebrate who they are and relish their journey into adult life.
