This is my final paper for Adolescent Development, in which I reflect on the content learned and how it will affect and aid me in my future as a school librarian.

1. Natalie Sapkarov
EPSY 430, Section 4
April 24, 2008
Take-home Final Exam Response
I enjoyed learning about the characteristics of adolescent cognition because it reaffirmed
behaviors I have noticed in the teens at my library. Today, a student talked to me about a book he
had just read, and he went off on a tangent: “If X had happened instead of Y, then Z would have
looked a bit more like A.” I had a hard time following his logic, but I could see him thinking
about the possibilities in a systematic way. My subfreshmen girls remind me of the transition
between thinking about concrete ideas to considering abstract concepts when they give
summaries of books they have read, blending the two by naming very basic setting and plot
elements with a follow-up of character personalities and emotions. During free periods, I often
overhear older teen girls gossiping in the library—thinking in multiple dimensions—wondering
what they should do in order to positively affect their social status and often making sarcastic yet
witty remarks. Metacognition in adolescence seems to be more obvious than at any other time, as
teens are constantly evaluating themselves and thinking about their own thoughts and feelings.
As for relativism, I constantly overhear students having discussions and debates, often ending
with, “It’s all relative anyway.” This has become a catchphrase of our upperclassmen, but I do
think they understand that the lines between right and wrong, truth and falsehood, and other
seemingly opposites are blurry.
The first step to understanding adolescents, in my opinion, is to figure out how their
minds work. This is especially important for educators because they play a major role in shaping
those minds. Teachers have the ability to push students to their highest potential or set low
expectations that do not nurture development at all. I would hope that all educators would use

2. Sapkarov 2
their powers for good, engaging students in enriching discussions and broadening their
perspectives. As a teacher-librarian, I see countless opportunities for nurturing students’
cognitive development. Using Bloom’s taxonomy as a guide, asking questions that fall into the
analysis, synthesis, and evaluation categories should be a top priority, something that I currently
do with my students even when we are informally talking about books we have read. Giving
students opportunities to think about things is key, and the best way to do that is by asking
questions.
The section on media literacy was also particularly interesting to me, as it completely
relates to my future career. Specifically, I learned that the media does have a unique effect on
teens, and they carry those effects with them to school. I was most intrigued by the Berry article
on the ways in which television has an impact on minority adolescents. In retrospect, I should
have been able to recognize how ethnocentric television is today, with few attempts of including
multicultural perspectives. I was slightly disturbed to learn how stereotypical of various cultures
the media is and how those negative stereotypes contribute to minority teens’ views of
themselves. The worst, however, was the realization that there are many cases that the minority
culture is simply left out of the media, which sends these teens the message that they should be
left out of society. In a world where the media dominates our lives, media literacy should be a
requirement for all educators to both learn and teach. The presentations we did in class are all
great examples of how teachers can incorporate small media lessons into their classrooms
unobtrusively, in an attempt to undo the brainwashing effects of the media and to promote the
well-being of our students. If they can learn to evaluate and critique what they see and hear, then
I think we are on our way to solving many of the problems teenagers experience today.

3. Sapkarov 3
Personally, I plan to develop an integrated media/information literacy curriculum in my future
school library.
Finally, the guest lecture on mental health in adolescents struck a sad note with me, but I
am glad that myths were debunked and truths were told so that I could feel a bit more confident
in responding to specific student behaviors. I have to admit that I believed all teens were full of
angst and that it was normal to feel sad and depressed all the time. I was happy to learn that to a
certain extent, yes, teens do have a tendency to be moodier (storm and stress), but they are not all
depressed! The fact that depression is actually underdiagnosed is a scary thought, but it makes
sense given the clichés we have of teens. Therefore, this piece of information is important for
educators to consider when they are about to dismiss a student’s behavior as being typical of an
angsty teen. There may be more serious issues at hand, and those issues should be reported to a
school counselor at least. Personally, I would attempt to initiate a conversation with the student
before contacting the counselor, but doing something is essential. It is disconcerting to find that
depression can be disguised and hiding amongst other associated disorders without ever being
revealed, so it is important for teachers to note changes in behavior in their students and to know
what the symptoms of depression are. This is not easy in an environment where so much
responsibility is placed on the teacher, but it is a moral (ethical and professional) obligation for
the teacher to do so. Personally, I am terrified of these types of situations, but I feel better about
approaching them with my added knowledge of the subject. I know what it was like being
depressed as a teen, and although I do not wish to relive the past, I feel I can offer empathy and
understanding to a teen who perhaps just needs someone to listen and care.