Reflection #2

                                               Reflection 

    The readings that stood out this week were my literature resources for my literature review. I first went into this week not knowing much about the brain development that occurs in adolescents. Now, I have attained a good amount of knowledge. I knew the brain did not fully develop until the age of 25, but I did not know that myelin had a critical role in this, as well as the prefrontal cortex. It is funny because my nickname at the camp I worked at was “Cortex”. Overall, the biggest portion of my knowledge from this week has to go to “Adolescent Brain Development: Current Research and the Impact on Secondary School Counseling Programs” (Roatens, 2012). This is a paper I will keep in mind as I progress through this program.

    What can I do to protect the silent? After this week’s movie, I came to terms that bullying is still a very real thing in today’s climate. What makes me question how the world perceives bullying is the website, stopbullying.gov. When asking who to contact when being bullied, it says “teacher, school counselor, school principal, school superintendent, or state department of education”. After this week, I do not know if those are enough. You need a community to stop bullying. 

    Instead of a government made website, I went to find a blog made by a community. I read “10 Ways to Help Reduce Bullying in Schools”, they stated that making a clear definition of bullying to the school board will help teachers have a shared view of what bullying looks like. Creating open communication and a safe environment is not asking much, but it does not seem like many classes have that feeling. I do not remember many classes that had a safe environment where I could address my bullying issues. If I could not find many, then someone might not have any environments where they feel safe. These ideas that I learned from this blog is something I want to establish in my classroom, as well as ideas proposed by E. McDonald’s “A quick look into the middle school brain”. McDonald provided simple techniques: creating a safe environment, providing healthy snacks, restroom/water breaks, relaxation station for your students, providing a structure, and to be patient (McDonald, 2010). Even if they are simple, these techniques were not in a lot of my own classrooms, so I am going to ensure they are in my classroom!


References

McDonald, E. (2010). A quick look into the middle school brain. National Association of Roaten, G. K., & Roaten, D. J. (2012). 

Roaten, G. K., & Roaten, D. J. (2012). Adolescent Brain Development: Current Research and the Impact on Secondary School Counseling Programs. Journal of School Counseling, 10(18), n18.

10 Ways to Help Reduce Bullying in Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved July 03, 2020, from https://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/10-Ways-to-Help-Reduce-Bullying-in-Schools



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