Toshalis Article

The article, The Construction of Adolescence by Toshalis, is reading I enjoy very much. Starting on the second page, the author’s immediately dismissed the notion of “adolescent rebellious-ness” and instead introduced the concept that teenagers are actively constructing their identity. That is to say, adolescents test limits though experimenting with behaviors and responses that adults and peers than later put labels too.

The author’s then provides a case example, the characters are Antwon and Ms. Peterson. The author’s use of the case study really connected to my own attitudes and beliefs toward perceived deviance.

Toshalis later refers to the concept of interpsychological development. Prior to introducing he concept, the author wrote the word “co” multiple time to communicate the concept of interpsychological development, which is another way of saying co-construction. I really vibe to how this concept was presented. For me, it explains how two separate biases which reciprocates further biases solely based on expectations and past experiences. The author’s use of the case study provides an effective example how the importance of other interpersonal competencies, such as: seeking first to understand, vulnerability, openness, cultural competency, assertiveness, etc….

At the end of the article, Toshalis continues to references Vygotsky’s model for both scaffolding and zone of proximal development. This was a good refresher from what I learned in the educational psychology class I took. I feel that Toshalis presented these two terms in a relevant way that better my compression.

This article really clicked for me, maybe because I can relate to my own educations as an adolescent. I won’t get into much detail, but I had some negative relationships with some teachers growing up. Students who don’t are never introduced to adults worthy of respect (poor parenting), will respond accordingly to other adults. I do not need to get any more detail because the Antwon example is done right.

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