In order to do well in school, most adolescents need places where they feel safe and “nor-
mal.” Those of you who remember being teenagers, or who already have teenaged children,
know that finding such a space in school, at home, in a community-based program, or in a
social group is not always easy.
Teenagers need a place that is theirs, a place with which they can identify and for which
they can take responsibility. A classroom, even when it is organized as a community, can be
large and overwhelming. Teenagers need to be related to each other and to adults in
smaller, often less structured spaces (e.g., teams and clubs). When I was in middle school
my homeroom teacher, Miss Berkowitz, took me under her wing. She was also my algebra
teacher and she encouraged me to be on the school’s (her) math team. The team met during
lunch period, a time when I normally played ball in the school yard. One thing Miss
Berkowitz always did was to make sure we ate lunch. I lived in a single-parent family and
sometimes my father would forget to leave lunch money when he rushed out early in the
morning. On days when I did not have money for lunch, Miss Berkowitz always lent me what
I needed. I stayed with the math team, and missed a number of ball games, largely because
of my relationship with her.
Sometimes providing support means that a teacher needs to give a student a little space.
Everybody has “bad hair days.” Treat students the way you would want to be treated if you
had just had a fight with your mother, were overtired, or just plain grumpy. Instead of back-
ing a student into a corner and provoking an explosion, give them that space.
This chapter opens with an essay by Judith Kaufman, a professor of human development
and educational psychology at Hofstra University, on the difficult world children and adoles-
cents can face in our society. It is followed by statements from members of the Hofstra New
Teachers Network on their own experiences as teenagers, the kind of support they needed,
and the way their experiences shape them as teachers. Sections also discuss at-risk youth and
the problem of violence in schools. The final essay is about the New Teachers Network and
the fact that teachers, especially new teachers, need support too.

CHAPTER

9

SUPPORT:HOW CAN TEACHERS PROVIDE

SUPPORT FOR STUDENTS HAVING

DIFFICULTY IN SCHOOL AND LIFE?

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