Adolescence is not a disease; coping with the challenges and taking pleasure in teaching "average" teenage piano students

American Music Teacher, June-July, 2002 by Yu-Jane Yang

"Teenage students are such an amazing package. They can be so brilliant, so intelligent, so profound, and so insightful, yet at the same time so foolish, so silly, so ridiculous, so crazy, and so immature that we often wonder, `Is this the same person?'"--Carolee Eriksson, a piano teacher of exclusively teenage students

Suddenly, our sweet, happy, respectful, perfect little piano student who was always well prepared for piano lessons becomes a temperamental, discourteous, lazy and unpredictable monster who objects to everything we say and shows no motivation for piano study. Failing to recognize the nature of adolescence and to adapt our teaching to suit the needs of our teenage students can make teaching a nightmare for the piano teacher and turn music study into torture for our students.

Characteristics of Adolescence

Adolescence is the hormone-driven stage of development that bridges the transformation of human beings from childhood to adulthood. Adolescent psychologists, Yates (1) and Gage, (2) propose that the dramatic changes occurring during the adolescent years can be observed in the following characteristics:

Physical growth. Because their bodies begin to grow so rapidly during adolescence, teenagers often feel awkward, self-conscious, uncoordinated, embarrassed and even confused. Furthermore, teenagers frequently attempt to hide or constantly complain about whatever part of their body makes them most uncomfortable.

Sexual Growth. Teenagers struggle with dramatic hormone changes in their bodies that evoke mixed feelings ranging from guilt to amazement.

Emotional growth. The hormone changes during the adolescent years also set teenagers off on a vulnerable emotional roller coaster ride overflowing with exaggerated and uncontrollable feelings. Teenagers view everything as a crisis. Their emotions outpace their rational thinking, and their feeling and thinking become so intertwined they have difficulty distinguishing between them.

Social growth. Parents no longer are the major focus of the teenagers' world. Adolescents shift from same-sex best-friend relationships to having close interactions and increasing interest in both sexes. They are quite self-centered and constantly feel like the whole world is watching them. How other people see adolescents, how everyone else may think about them and what their peers say about them become teenagers' great concern. They need frequent validation by others, and they desperately seek peer acceptance. Adolescents have a great desire for independence and want to be treated like adults. Anxiously searching for their own identity, adolescents wish to find their answer to the question, "Who am I?" They attach great importance to status symbols, as reflected by their possessions and clothing. Fascinated by "adult" behaviors, teens are eager to try out previously forbidden activities. Rebellion seems to be inevitable, so they can be different from their parents. Peers' opinions become most influential. They are passionate about their idols, with whom they can identify. Being "cool" and doing "cool" things become imperative.

Intellectual growth. Adolescence is the exciting phase of transition when human beings start developing the cognitive ability to form abstract thoughts. However, teenagers often have poor communication skills and frequently show frustration when not able to express their thoughts clearly. They tend to have doubts and confusion about what to believe, and they are troubled by their fear of the unknown that lies ahead. Furthermore, adolescents' learning to reason and think for themselves often leads to their constant questioning of authority.

Five Emotional Needs of Teenagers

In Why Your Kids Do What They Do, (3) Rodney Gage specifies five emotional needs of teenagers:

(1) To be noticed. Teenagers crave attention. Changing hair styles, dressing in certain fashions, playing loud music, slamming doors, using angry words and picking on younger siblings are all signals to us about their need for attention. They need to feel they are someone special, and they want to be appreciated for their efforts and accomplishments. They would like adults to respect their privacy, their possessions and their ideas.

(2) To receive encouragement. In spite of striving for independence, teenagers need nurturing and support. They perceive a verbal or written encouragement and our physical commitment--being there for them when it matters the most--as indications of our support.

(3) To get empathy. Comfort is one of adolescents' greatest needs, yet most difficult for them to articulate. It is crucial that we watch their body language to provide the needed consolation as soon as possible. Additionally, we need to be sensitive to those who struggle with their rapidly growing bodies and may not feel comfortable being hugged or touched.

(4) To receive direction. When searching for their own identities and significance, teenagers often try on different personalities to see which one fits best and undertake different projects to see which one makes them feel significant. We can facilitate their growth by helping them set specific, clear and measurable goals.