Do the sneaker heads have it all figured out?
By no means a new idea, sneaker head culture has me thinking about middle school culture, and more specifically, adolescent identity.
Maybe the answer to our greatest challenges to create meaningful learning experiences has been right in front of us, or should I say, “at our feet” the whole time.
According to AMLE’s landmark position paper, The Successful Middle School: This We Believe, one of the five essential attributes an education for young adolescents is being responsive. This is defined as “using the distinctive nature and identities of young adolescents as the foundation upon which all decisions about school are made”.
Stopping to think about this, do we ever wonder how often this is taken into consideration, when planning a middle school program or classroom lesson?
The sneaker heads have it figured out.
Let’s be honest. Being an adolescent is tough. Who among us would ever wish to go back to being 13? In most cases, none of us would wish that on our worst enemy, or if you’re a middle school person, frenemy (insert cringey smile here).
As a middle school principal, I’ve come to realize and appreciate how adolescent identity is central to everything we do to serve them. Speak to them in a way that resonates, and you’ve successfully captured lightning in a bottle. Miss the mark, and you’ll know it. Adolescent behavior is a great communicator, and gives valuable feedback to adults who are willing to listen carefully and act.
Question is, are we adults open to accept it when we’re missed the target on something we’ve said to a kid, aged 10 to 14? It’s feedback, and it helps, if we let it.
What if we started paying attention to other things that we know work with kids?
TikTok. YouTube. Gaming systems. Sports. Music. Art. Clubs. Service activities.
Stop rolling your eyes. You’re an adult, not an adolescent.
These are all things, whether we adults want to admit it or not, speak to adolescents. Taken one step further, in the 2020s, the connections kids feel when engaged in these things that matter, tap into their sense of identity.
Imagine if we teachers and better yet, teams of teachers, started framing our conversations, our lessons, and our messages around things that really matter to kids.
What if we believed in putting our best foot forward to serve adolescents?
Like the sneaker head culture, what if we establish norms and provide clear parameters? Then we give them to autonomy to select how they demonstrate their learning.
What if learning conversations and engagement was fostered with curiosity and inquiry? What if adults asked more questions and invited more questions to their questions? Would adolescents being to connect interdisciplinary learning in core areas and in special areas?
What if we create space for expression of self, and model acceptance of various ideas, not committing one one right way of thinking or doing? We have an opportunity to create classroom and school cultures where adolescents are curators or their learning and of their identity.
What if teachers, principals, and parents were more like sneaker heads, with adolescents?
Would adolescents learn, in and out of middle school, more like sneaker heads?