Professional Learning for Busy Educators

When an accusation like “you don’t care” hurtles an adult’s way, the inner turmoil of adolescence can seem purely excruciating. But these reactions actually stem from a positive force, says Ronald Dahl, who founded the Center for the Developing Adolescent at the University of California, Berkeley: a unique drive to find meaning in life and relationships. And no relationship, parents and educators know well, is as central to the moment-to-moment wellbeing of most tweens and teens as friendship.

“Spending time with their friends isn’t just a pastime,” says Mitch Prinstein, professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of North Carolina. “It’s actually something that they need for their brain development and identity formation. They don’t know who they are until they see themselves through their peers’ eyes. So there is a lot of testing out new roles, new relationships.” It can all be quite stressful.