Adolescent Interview and Reflection

Part 1: Adolescent Interview Questions

Question 1: Describe your friends, and explain what you like to do
with them.
Chapter 10 discusses platonic relationships and group acceptance.
Friendships during adolescence can be challenging and defining moments.
The desire to have friends and social acceptance is important to teenagers,
and understanding more about the friends a teen surrounds herself with will
help me to understand more about her.
Question 2: Have you ever had a boyfriend? Tell me about your
experience.
Chapter 10 discusses cross-sex friendships and the development of dating.
Since most teens want to love and be loved, falling in love can lead to
positive experiences for adolescents. Failed relationships can also lead to
emotional instability and depression. I am curious to see the way a specific
teen views her romantic relationships.
Question 3: What types of music do you listen to? Why do you like it
so much?
Chapter 10 discuses the importance of music in the life of an adolescent. My
students love to listen to music, and they talk about it all of the time. When I
integrate music into my lesson, I usually have a pretty attentive class. The
style of music that a teen listens to can say a lot about her.
Question 4: Do you believe in God? Why? Do most of your friends
believe in God? Why?
Chapter 7 discusses the extra familial influence on the morality of
adolescents. I am curious about how religious my interviewee is because
religion can potentially influence moral behavior. I am also curious about how
religious her friends are and if their religious beliefs influence hers.
Question 5: What do you like about being a girl? What dont you like
about being a girl?
Chapter 6 discuses identity and gender. I am very interested in how
adolescent girls view themselves and how that shapes their self-esteem. I
also want to learn about her personal views on gender roles and what has
influenced them.

Part 2: Summary of Results and Reflection

I selected a 16-year-old female as the subject of my adolescent study.
She is actively involved in softball and volleyball. She is very interested in
boys, friends, and current fashion, and she spends quite a bit of time social
networking with her friends. Needless to say, she really does represent a
fairly traditional teenager. For the sake of this paper, she will be referred to
as Lucy to provide her with anonymity.
Peers
During the interview, Lucy was very excited to talk about her friends.
The majority of her friends are girls; although, she did mention a few male
acquaintances. Many of her friends are connected to her softball team or
volleyball team, so they spend a lot of time together on and off the
court/field. She spent most of the time discussing her two closest ones,
Brianna and Sara. She referred to both of them as her best friends. The two
people that she can always count on to have her back. She described them
as loyal and fun, two qualities that she seems to value in a friend. Like most
teenagers, they love to shop, have sleepovers, watch scary movies, talk
about boys, gossip about their friends, and listen to music.
Lucy has a large circle of friends, and she likes to spend time with
them. She recently was grounded from her cell phone because she snuck out

on a school night to be with them. She just got her phone back, so she spent
quite a bit of time during the interview texting and social networking via
Twitter and Instagram, not that I am really surprised by this behavior. She
wanted everyone to know that she was not grounded anymore and that she
had her phone back. She even took a selfie to celebrate the moment.
At this point, Lucy appears to be fully immersed in adolescent society
and culture. She is actively involved in platonic relationships and these
relationships do shape her behaviors, values, and attitudes. She does seem
to belong to a more formal adolescent society, more specifically, athletes.
Becoming involved in extracurricular sports has provided Lucy with positive
peer influences. Females with similar goals and work ethics surround her.
They are a close-knit group that is strengthened because they are also a
team.
Boyfriends
Lucy has had two boyfriends. The first relationship lasted six months,
and she is currently in a new relationship with the boy who asked her to
prom. She said that her first boyfriend, Joe, was really nice, almost too nice,
and it became annoying. He was her first kiss, and she really liked him, but
he never gave her any space. He was in constant contact with her. When she
could not take it anymore, she broke up with him. She seems to have easily
moved on from this relationship.
Her new boyfriend, Roberto, is nothing like Joe. He does not go to
church, and he is not always nice to everyone. His grades are not as good,

and the only thing, besides for her, that he cares about is baseball. They
both love baseball, which is what drew her to him. Since she is only a
sophomore, going to prom with a junior is a big deal, and apparently, The
best moment of my life. She spent a lot of time talking about Roberto during
the interview and texting him.
According to the textbook, Falling in love serves as a positive need in
the lives of most people. If the love is reciprocated, it is associated with
fulfillment and ecstasy (Dolgin, 2011). Lucy has only been in two romantic
relationships, but so far, she seems to have come out unscathed. She speaks
positively about her first boyfriend and adores her current boyfriend. These
relationships are fulfilling a positive need in her life. Lucy also appears to be
in a higher social status group than some of her peers, so it is not uncommon
for her to date more frequently (Dolgin, 2011). She is still only 16 and is
already on boyfriend number two.
Music
Lucy loves listening to music. She even stated that, Its my life. Music
is very important to her. She listens to it during softball practice, with her
friends, when she is alone, and when she is doing homework. She loves
listening to rock, rap, and punk and spent a lot of time talking about Drake, a
rapper from Canada. She recently went to one of his concerts and she could
not stop gushing about how amazing he is and how his music speaks to her.
She also discussed her love and respect for Katy Perry. She is a strong
women who is not afraid to be different. She is proud of who she is and is

thinks highly of herself. Lucy wants to be viewed in the same way that Perry
views herself.
According to the textbook, Music is an important part of adolescent
culture (Dolgin, 2011). Lucy listens to music to relax, during social events,
to relieve boredom, and to express her feelings. All of these reasons are
listed in the textbook. Like many teens, music plays an important roll in
Lucys life. Her music selections give me a little bit of insight into who she is.
This can be seen through her love for Katy Perry, who is known to be proud
of who she is and embraces her uniqueness. This is something that inspires
Lucy, and I can see Lucy trying to embrace herself and be happy in her own
skin.

Religion
Lucy has grown up in a house that does not actively practice religion.
Her mom comes from a Mormon background and her dad comes from a
Catholic background. The last time she attended church was during a
Christmas Eve mass that was two years ago. She does believe in God and
even admits to praying every so often, but that is usually when she is having
a problem. She seems to turn to religion when things get tough in life.
The textbook states that, Religion certainly plays an important part in
the lives of many Americans, including adolescents, and it is one avenue
through which adolescents can learn a moral code (Dolgin, 2011). There is a

correlation between how religious parents are and how religious their
children are, and this can be seen reflected through Lucys beliefs. Just like
her parents, she believes in God and even prays on occasion, but she does
not spend much time participating in organized religion. Religion can
influence moral behavior, and Lucy does not drink or smoke (or will not tell
me if she does), so her moral behavior could be influenced by her familys
strong belief in God. Participating in organized religion is not a requirement
for being a religious individual. I do wonder if Lucy will step away from God
as she gets older.
On Being a Girl
Lucy really likes being a girl. She likes playing sports because they
make her feel strong and powerful. She also likes to spend time dressing up,
putting on makeup, going shopping, and talking about boys. She fits the
mold for a fairly traditional girl, but being an athlete seems to give improved
self worth.
Unfortunately, one thing that Lucy connects with a female weakness is
her inability to be successful in math. She stated, I am awful at math. Most
girls cant do math. This was one of the most surprising statements that she
made during the interview. It saddened me to hear that she believed that
being a girl was the cause for her struggles in math. This preconceived
notion about math is fairly common in our society, but I have never heard a
girl actually state it out loud.

She also believes that she must always look perfect in the eyes of
others. Appearance is very important in her social circle, so it is assumed
that she must always be on point. She strives for physical perfection like
many girls her age. Lucy also tires of dealing with lame boys. They are
immature, which is why she is dating an upperclassman. Dating an
upperclassman can also provide her with higher social standing amongst her
peers.
According to the textbook, traditional beliefs of femininity have not
stood the test of time. Women are no longer expected to be quiet, docile,
and overly emotional (Dolgin, 2011). Lucy does seem to reflect this more
modern perspective on women. She wants to be strong and independent;
she is athletic and charismatic. Unfortunately, she still believes a few of the
more traditional stereotypes and gender role beliefs, such as girls are not
good at math and they need to look their best at all times. Times have
changed, but some societal beliefs are harder to let go of than others.
Part 3: Reflection
I am the only 11th grade English teacher for education and medical
students at a career and technical academy. As a result of this grouping, my
female to male ratio is about 8:1. Because of this unique teaching
environment, I wanted to focus my adolescent study on females. As I get
older, it gets harder for me to relate to my students, especially my female
students. It is easy to forget the unique pressures and struggles that they go
through as adolescents; although, they are all similar to ones that I would

have gone through, but I am finding it harder to remember what it was like to
be in their shoes. For me, the goal of this adolescent study is to help me see
and understand my female students; furthermore, this understanding will
lead to me becoming a better educator for these young ladies.
Female students can be very moody. Some days they are up, and other
days they are down. This fluctuation in attitude and emotion can influence
their classroom performance. Understanding the root cause for these
fluctuations can provide me with insight and a potential for the ability to
rectify the situation. I am not a guidance counselor, but there are many ways
that I can be supportive and understanding to my female students. I believe
that showing them empathy and a kind heart will lead to them being more
successful in the classroom. It is important to be understanding of situations
that are impacting their behavior and attitude, but it is equally important to
remind the girls that the show must go on. Regardless of what they are
feeling or what is happening in their lives, the world does not stop for them.
Sometimes they have to hang on and just weather the storm.
One of my biggest pet peeves is when my female students have to
check their appearance and put on makeup in the middle of class. If I did not
say anything, I would have quite a few girls with mirrors out, applying
makeup, and fixing their hair on a regular basis. My adolescent interview
reminded me of the pressures that many young women go through to look
perfect, to meet that standard that is set by society. Growing up, I was a
tomboy, so it can be difficult for me to understand why so many girls feel the

need to look perfect at all times. Lucy addressed this pressure in my

interview, and I saw her in practice during her prom pictures. She wanted to
look perfect and to have the perfect pictures. My observation only lasted 30
minutes, but she was still posing her friends and boyfriend for more perfect
photos after I left. Later her mother told me that the photo session went on
for almost 45 minutes. Perfection is an impossible standard to live up to, but
girls still feel the pressure to attain it. Although I will never allow students to
primp in my classroom, this experience has reminded me of why they
continue to do it. It has reminded me of the extreme amount of pressure that
they feel to be perfect.
Lucys love of music reminded me of my students love for music.
Music inspires and reflects who she is and who she wants to be. From time to
time, I try to integrate music into my classroom, but after this interview, I
think that I want to use it for a get to know you activity at the beginning of
the year. The type of music that a student listens to really says a lot about
them. Lucys eyes lit up as she talked about how Katy Perry inspired her and
how Drake was so hot! I would expect similar excitement from my
students, and it would be nice to see and understand a little bit about who
they are earlier in the school year.
Lucy has been in two relationships and did not seem to be impacted too
much by them. She does seem to be falling head over heels for her new
boyfriend, which has caused her to get into some trouble (sneaking out to
meet him and other friends). She has a strong personality, and it appears

like she is one of the leaders in her pack of friends, but she is still influenced
by her boyfriend. She seems to have handled the first breakup really well,
but that could be because she was the one doing the breaking up. I do
wonder if it would have been more difficult to get over the relationship if she
was the one who felt the rejection.
Lucys reactions to her current relationship and failed one remind me
quite a few students in my classroom. I try to be understanding, but in the
back of my mind, I sometimes feel like the emotions that they are having are
a little on the melodramatic side. I did not really have any boyfriends in high
school, so it is hard for me to understand all of the drama and excitement
that is created around these relationships. After reading the textbook, talking
to Lucy, and having a past student commit suicide over a failed relationship,
I now understand how much romantic relationships do impact the lives of
adolescents. Because of this, I am now paying closer attention to the
romantic relationships of my students and trying to be more understanding
when things go wrong, and referring them to the counselor if they seem to
be having an emotional breakdown.
I teach on the East side of the city, so I have a high population of
Mormon students and Catholic students, some students are definitely more
devout than others. Religion does play an important roll in many of my
students lives, so it is not uncommon for them to bring up God or church
during class discussions. The key is making sure that these discussions are
happening in a setting where everyone is respectful of each others beliefs,

regardless of whether they believe them or not. Although I would never allow
a student to proselytize in my classroom, I do respect their courage to share
their beliefs when making connections to classroom materials. It takes
courage to share personal beliefs and opinions, and my goal is to continue
fostering an environment where students can do this.
After teaching to such a large female population for the past six years,
I was not completely surprised by Lucys responses on being a girl. She
reminds me of many female students that I have: actively involved in sports,
outspoken, slightly obsessed with her outward appearance, and interested in
boys. Although there is nothing wrong with any of these things, they can
definitely be taken too far. It is important for these young women to find a
balance. If they are too focused on things such as boys and physical beauty,
they will start to lose sight of the some of the things that matter most. Part
of my job as a teacher is to try and keep them focused on their educational
development and goals.
I was also surprised to hear Lucy repeat and believe a common
stereotype: girls are not good at math. It saddened me to hear this, but this
is a prevalent attitude amongst my female students. They complain about
math, and they talk about how they cannot do it. I am not sure how to
change this commonly believed stereotype, but I believe that it has to be
done within the school culture. Maybe we need to bring in more female role
models who are also success stories in the field of mathematics. Maybe we
need to approach the subject of math in a different way. I am not sure what

the next step is, but I do know that from now on, students will only hear me
say positive things about math. Girls can do math, and I want them to know
it.
Finally, this adolescent study has provided me with a small glimpse
into the inner workings of a female adolescents mind. What makes her tick?
What influences her decisions? How do all of these things impact her
education? If I could go back and do the interview again, I would include a
question that focuses more on education. This is the one observational piece
that I am missing from this study.