Summary :
The YA age is a very important and vital time when a lot is going on in a young person’s life. For the physical aspect, puberty is beginning. Children are grappling with whether or not they are normal in what is going on. It is for sure not an easy time, and what they are going through gets in the way of their day-to-day life. Students need to be told that they will survive as they are changing from child to tween and teen, and this too shall pass.
For intellectual, Piaget states that the students are beginning to change from concrete to abstract thinkers, and they may or may not be at that stage yet. As a librarian, you need to figure out the stages your students are at so that you can recommend books that may have more abstract themes to the right types of students.
So much is going on in the developmental stages of YA readers! They are going through peer changes, a search for more independence, changes in their parent relationships and morals/values. They are also adapting to their physical bodies and defining their appropriate sex roles. When choosing books for them, you need to find books that speak to where the students are developmentally, and also find books that may help them move up.
Kohlberg’s theories talk about 3 stages of thinking : preconventional, conventional and postconventional. Many students are still in the preconventional thinking of rewards and punishments. If they read a book where the characters are more postconventional, they will be less likely to understand the characters choices, and may have questions for you to help answer.
I enjoyed reviewing about Maslow’s Needs Hierarchy and applying it to the library specifically. Just like teachers work on those needs with their students in the classroom, you need to work on them in the library as well. It needs to be a place where students feels safe, and also one where they are loved and feel valued.
Finally the cake diagram was given for the adolescent readers’ development as readers. They should read for many reasons, such as empathy, unconscious delight, to live vicariously, and for aesthetic reasons to name a few. I thought the statement was interesting about how if adults do not read for fun now, which one of those reasons are they missing?
Reflection :
The purpose of this chapter was to realize how adolescents develop, so as librarians, we can know how to match readers with books they are able to identify and make a connection with, as well as just simply enjoy. I definitely need to add more YA titles to my reading list once I finish this class, so I can be readily aware of good books to recommend to my adolescent readers, as well as books they may not be ready for.
In response to Piaget’s theories, I need to keep a steady finger on which students are abstract vs. concrete thinkers. Those that have already transitioned to abstract can handle books with underlying themes, while those who have not may miss the point entirely.
When I am reading YA titles, I need to keep a running list of what issues/concepts the books teach about. That way when I feel or hear that students are going through such developmental stages as a search for independence or peer changes, I know what books I can turn to.
Kohlberg’s theories of thinking are ones I have not brushed up on since freshman year in college, and I need to do more research on before I become a librarian. Working in the elementary setting presently, most of the titles I come across are very preconventional thinking instances. If I were to move to a middle school/high school level, I would have to know titles that could challenge those postconventional thinkers.
Maslow’s Hierarchy applies so much to all areas of the school. It will affect how I evaluate/read YA literature because I will be sure that my library always gives off an aura of being safe and a place where students want to grow and learn!
Finally the cake diagram shows me all the reasons that YA students may want to read. Do I have all those sorts of titles in my library? What titles can I add so that I do?
This was a interesting video that gave me a lot to think about! During adolescence there is so much that goes on in a young reader’s life that the library needs to work on and be aware of!
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