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Take Home Assignment As a parent, it is natural to want your child to succeed academically and socially. Middle school years become primetimes for a child to grow in these ways. This is a time when teenagers start to categorize themselves and their classmates into a variety to cliques and social circles, marking the tormentor to their personal Identities. During this time, teenagers face a number of different transitions: the transition from elementary school to middle school, transition into a more socially complex world, and the transition into puberty.
Peer influence, the way in which peers play a role in the development of an individual, can be seen as both positive and negative. During early pubertal development, positive peer influence provides a support system tort the teenager during a time to many changes. In contrast, negative peer Influence, In combination with other developmental and environmental changes, can have a hindering effect In the academic achievement of middle school students across the nation. Similar individuals have more social contact with one another.
Feb. 10, 2014) Just as well adjusted teenagers seek out friend groups or individuals with similar interests, teenagers exhibiting disruptive behavior before the translation to middle school are more likely to associate with other maladjusted youth. Thereby Increasing the likelihood that these teens will experience further maladjustment. (Gifford Smith) Negative peer Influence can lead to delinquent behavior. According to Gifford Smith, “deviant youth become even more deviant is through unrestricted interaction with deviant peers. (Gifford Smith) Academically, dents that have been expelled, held back, or classified into a lower tracking tier are Likely to be exposed to students with salary characteristics Instead to academically successful teens and this will Learnt a student’s academic success. (Gifford Smith) “Socially withdrawn, shy, and inhibited children are prime targets of bullying and rejection” and may also find it hard to succeed academically due to the lack of social support and emotional hardship.
Oven) These characteristics potentially inhibit the formation of stable social connections that teens need in order o have a healthy transition into middle school, In schools with low diversity. Teenagers are more likely to experience withdrawn or excluded feelings due to the limited number of social circles to choose from. (Feb. 24, 2014) Bullying has been known to further define the line between “cool” teens and “uncoil” teens. A study done shows the “coolness factor” of bullies from 5th grade all the way through middle school During the primary school years, bullies are not considered very popular. UT in sixth grade this rate spikes. (Galvan. Spottier. & Juvenile) Bullies In diddle school are suddenly considered “cool” because they establish a social hierarchy during a time of social changes for many individuals. Bullied youth are suddenly deemed at the bottom rung of the social ladder and may become a pariah of their peers, exasperating more energy on avoiding the bullying, instead of focusing on academic interests (Feb. 19, 2014).
As a result, bullied and rejected youth, due to social stresses and lack to positive support trot their peers, tend to have lower Gaps and lower academic engagement. While negative peer Influence may factor onto the decline to academic engagement, it in no way causes this behavior. M school marks a time of changing bodies, social structure, and familial situations and these adjustments can also play a role in declining academic achievement.