The Middle School Mind

Growing Pains in Early Adolescent Brains

By (author) Richard M. Marshall, Sharon Neuman

Not available to order

Publication date:

16 December 2011

Length of book:

134 pages

Publisher

R&L Education

ISBN-13: 9781610485869

This book is a must read for anyone in close proximity to middle schoolers. Using actual events from the lives of real teenagers, the authors (a middle school principal and a child neuropsychologist) combine perspectives to provide an engaging, light-hearted journey into the adventures and misadventures of newly-minted teens. First, the authors put to rest some long-standing misconceptions about teenage behavior. However bizarre they appear to adults, teenagers’ emotional reactions and their behaviors can no longer be explained solely by raging hormones. Using the stories as a backdrop, the authors provide emerging findings from developmental psychology and the neurosciences to explain why young teens do the things they do. The developing brain of a young teenager produces thoughts and feelings that are vastly different from an adult. Knowing this helps us to appreciate and accept the unique challenges they face.
As a child neuropsychologist, I think the basic fundamentals of adolescent brain-behavior relations are easily presented and integrated in this book. The personal experiences of adolescents shared in this book bring light to our understanding and pave the way toward more productive interactions. These accounts ‘tell it like it is,’ often with well-expressed jolts of the sharp reality experienced by middle schoolers.

This book should be at the top of the list of gifts for anyone who has or works with adolescents!”