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Peer Influence: The Good and the Bad
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | May 27, 2009
Peer influences, this week’s topic, can be the most powerful determinants of success or failure for adolescents. Educators, mentors and parents need to be constantly aware of the impact of other kids on the kids they work with (and sometimes, these influences are way beyond our sight). Its not always easy, but these ideas are from Emma B - former Making Connections Student and teacher, can help:
Peers influence each other all day long. I see a lot of positive influence, even in competition. Students want the attention from others, and the teachers, for doing good work. That causes them to put in more effort. I see kids wanting to be “the best” - the best reader, the best writer, or the best at math. They are trying to impress their peers. The fact that this makes them work harder is a positive in my mind.
They also influence each other positively when they keep each other from doing things that would get them in trouble. For instance, there was a great deal of stealing during our school book fair last year. There were a group of kids who influenced each other negetively by giving them the idea to steal and making it “cool”. On the other hand, there were some students who influenced their peers not to steal. They told their friends, “You don’t want to get in trouble, so you shouldn’t steal.” They did not tell on the kids who stole, but they infuenced their friends not to.
Of course, it was negative influence that made stealing from the book fair seem cool. When kids saw that other kids were stealing and getting away with it, they tried it too. That was peer influence in action. Students didn’t even need to say anything; just by doing it and not getting caught, other students were influenced to try it also.
Peer relationships affect everything in school. As teachers and mentors, we need to remember that other students have just as much, if not more, impact on students. than we (and their family members) do.
I think we realize this and use it in terms of teaching when we use cooperative group learning. But, we dont always use that in the social and emotional areas of school.
To encourage positive peer relationships, I use Tribes and cooperative learning. These help the kids learn to work together and they often end up teaching each other. The kids learn who is an expert in what area and can ask that student for help. Just by arranging the classroom so that students sit in groups, instead of isolation, fosters peer relationships.
I think that positive relationships among students begins by the example that the teachers set. When the students see that the teacher likes and respects all of the students, they follow the model and treat each other with respect. They also do not need to compete with each other for teacher attention if the teacher is already genuinely respecting and liking all the students.
Another way the teacher can promote positive peer relationships is with classroom meetings. Starting at the beginning of the year, classroom meetings help create community and let the students get to know each other. It also tells them that the classroom is a safe place for them to share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas. This can also be a way to help them stay away from negetive peer influences.
One other key is helping kids find common interests: When children are allowed to decide topics of discussion during class meetings they usually bring up any issues that they need or want to discuss.
You can also set the tone for this by differentiating instruction and letting students pick projects by interest, by topic or final product - as long as it encourages students to work with students who have like interests. This is a great way for kids to interact positively … and learn.
Topics: Peer Relationships |
May 28th, 2009 at 3:33 pm
Peer relationships influence kids in all ways. In the program I worked in recently, the good influences I saw were encouragement and support. Peers can act as a support group and help make any process easier- whether it’s trying new activities, talking to different children, or venturing out of your comfort zone.
Some negative influences I’ve seen are pressure to do things you don’t want to do. Kids are going through so many changes and experiencing a lot of different emotions. They don’t know who they are quite yet and can sometimes feel a great sense of pressure to fit in. Also, children get caught up in the moment and can often end up doing things they know aren’t right, but can’t help themselves at the time. I’ve seen this with children when they get together in groups and start collaborating.
These relationships influence attitudes towards education, achievement, and success in good ways mostly. I think when children see their peers getting attention for doing something well, they want to do things well, too. Although, there are also times when children see that education and being smart isn’t “cool” and end up not putting in the effort they normally would. This correlates with peer pressure.