1. Warm up activity:
Discuss the questions in pair.
* What age group do you belong to? (16-17,18-21,22-23).
* Do you think you are old enough to lace the world?
* Do you ever feel that people do not pay you much attention because
of your age? Why?
2. Read the text below and
answer the questions that follow:
i. Children must pass
through several stages in their lives to become adults. For most people, there
are four or five such stages of growth where they learn certain things: infancy
(birth to age 2% early childhood (3 to 8 year?), late childhood (9 to 12 years)
and adolescence (13 to 18 years). Persons 18 and over are considered adults in our
society. Of course, there are some who will try to act older than their years.
But, for the most part, most individuals have to go through these stages
irrespective of their economic or social status.
ii. World Health Organisation
(WHO) identifies adolescence as the period in human growth and development that
occurs after childhood and "before adulthood. This phase represent* one of
the critical transitions in one's life span and is characterized by feat paced
growth and change which are second only to those at infancy. Biological
processes drive many aspects of this growth and development with the onset of
puberty marking the passage from childhood to adolescence. The biological determinants
of adolescence are fairly universal; however, the duration and defining characteristics
of this period may vary across time, cultures, and socio-economic situations.
This period has seen many change over the past century-puberty for example,
comes earlier than before, people marry late, and their sexual attitudes and behaviors
are different from their grandparents, or even parents. Among the factors
responsible for the change are education, urbanization and spread of global
communication.
iii. The time of
adolescence is a period of preparation for adulthood during which one experiences
several key developments. Besides physical and sexual maturation, these
experiences include movement toward social and economic independence,
development of identity, the acquisition of skills needed to carry out adult
relationships and roles and the capacity for abstract reasoning. While
adolescence is a time of tremendous growth and potential, it is also a time of considerable
risks during which social contexts exert powerful influences.
iv. Many adolescents face
pressure to use alcohol, cigarettes, or other drugs and to initiate sexual
relationships putting themselves at high risk for intentional and unintentional
injuries, unintended pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs),
including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many also experience a wide
range of adjustment and mental health problems. Behavior patterns that are
established during this period such as the use or avoidance of drugs and taking
or abstaining from sexual risk can have long-lasting negative and positive
effects on future health and well-being. As a result, adults have unique
opportunities to influence adolescents.
v. Adolescents are
different both from young children and adults. Specifically, adolescents are
not fully capable of understanding complex concepts, or the relationship
between behaviour and consequences, or the degree of control they have or can
have over health decision-making, including that related to sexual behaviour.
This inability may make them particularly vulnerable to sexual exploitation and
high-risk behaviors. Laws, customs, and practices may also affect
adolescents differently than adults. For example, laws and policies
often restrict adolescents' access to reproductive health information and
services, especially when they are unmarried. In addition, even when services
do exist, provider attitudes about adolescents often pose a significant barrier
to the use of those services.
vi. Adolescents depend on
their families, their communities, schools, health services and their
workplaces to leam a wide range of skills that can help them to cope with the
pressures they face and make a successful transition from childhood to
adulthood. Parents, members of the community, service providers, and social
institutions have the responsibility to both promote adolescent development and
adjustment and to intervene effectively when problems arise.
[Source: http://www.who.int/maternal child
adolescent/topics/adolescence/dev/en/ http://childdevelopmentinfo.com/child-development/teens_stages]
3. The passage above has six
paragraphs (i-vi). Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs (i-vi) from
the list given below. There are more headings in the box than the number of
paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.
List of headings
a. A journey towards adulthood
b. Adolescence and education
c. Stages of human life
d. Need for collective efforts
e. An observation by World Health Organisation
f. A transition period
g. The adverse effects of taking drugs
h. Influence of culture on adolescents
i. Potential health hazards
j. A vulnerable age
4. Match the words in Column A with the meanings in Column B in the table below:
Column A
|
Column B
|
|
adolescence
|
extraordinarily
large in size, extent, amount, power, or degree
|
|
determinants
|
something
that logically or naturally follows from an action or condition
|
|
acquisition
|
to become
involved in something (such as a conflict) in order to
have an
influence on what happens
|
|
tremendous
|
the period
of physical and psychological development from the onset
of puberty
to maturity
|
|
exert
|
||
susceptible
to injury or disease
|
||
consequence
|
a change
from one thing to the next, either in action or state of being
|
|
vulnerable
|
the act of
acquiring or gaining possession
|
|
intervene
|
a factor
or cause that makes something happen or leads directly to a
decision
|
|
transition
|
to put
forth effort to do something
|
5. Answer the following questions:
a. What changes are experienced by the adolescent youths?
b. What are some of the potential health risks faced by the adolescents?
c. How are the adolescents different from the children and adults?
d. What role can the society and community play in promoting the
adolescents?
e. Do you think you are getting enough support from your family,
school and community? What do you expect them to do for your proper
development?
6. Suppose you are going to
give a presentation on the possible health problems that adolescent youths may
face: What problems will you highlight and what solutions would you offer?
Write a paragraph (about 150 words) introducing the topic.
7. What do the following words
and terms mean?
a. infancy
b. puberty
c. transition
d. defining characteristic
e. provider attitude
If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:
Lesson 2: Adolescence and Some (Related) Problems in Bangladesh
If you want to read the next lesson of this unit please click the link below:
Lesson 2: Adolescence and Some (Related) Problems in Bangladesh
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