Social media connects me to psychology teachers around the country. An AP Psychology teacher in Arizona, Scott Reid, shared two parts of his Development unit that I felt would play well with my Cognitive Psychology students, half of whom are in the physical classroom and the remainder on Zoom.
The first is a simple question for seniors in high school: “What’s one thing you really wish your parents knew/ understood?” Here are their anonymized and randomized but otherwise unedited responses, collected via PearDeck:
- my phone is not that bad
- curfew isn’t really stopping anything at this point.
- that i’m ready to go off on my own and they don’t need to worry
- I do try and work hard even if you may think otherwise
- that chocolate cake is a necessity at all times
- my phone is my phone
- I am independent
- I’m struggling
- I can make educated, important decisions for myself
- that i don’t want to talk to them sometimes
- that just because my siblings are adults doesn’t mean i am… i still need guidance sometimes
- I am capable of making my own decisions and shouldn’t have so much of my life controlled
- still able to get stuff done when procrastinating
- how judgmental they can come off sometimes
- I’m not talking to a boy when i smile at my phone
- that i want to be left alone
- covid hit and school’s hard right now and going to college is going to be hard
- how different the world we have grown up in is, compared to when our parents grew up.
- I can do things on my own
- that they can trust me.
- that boys don’t determine my mood
- I am trustworthy and safe
- how canvas works.
- nagging about their day and crapping on mine doesn’t make anyone feel better
- that i am not completely stupid and that i actually understand responsibility.
- how stressful school can be even from home
- I wish they’d realize i’m not a kid anymore.
- My pronouns are hard to share with them.
- that throwing things and yelling is why im not going to come home after college
- their childhoods and how it made them the way they are today
- how i’m feeling about college
- how difficult things are especially right now
- that i don’t need approval to know what i am doing is right.
- we are always going through something whether it be friend drama or school so please give us a break.
- things are different from when they were my age
- it’s okay to want to be alone
- probably that i will not end up crashing my car every time i drive with music on the radio
- my parents actually know everything about me–they’re my best friends and not in a depressing way. we just get along super well.
- stop telling me colleges are dumb for rejecting me, it doesn’t make me feel better
- that you have grown and learned from stuff you’ve done in the past
- sometimes i just want to be left alone in my room.
- I’m going to engage in teenage behaviors/activities and it is not the end of the world!
- My friends are also changing at this time
- impacts of social media / why we want to be on our phones so much
- sometimes communication is hard and i don’t want to share everything with them
- I wish they knew how hard i work and how badly i want to please them
- I will tell them when i know where i want to go to college they don’t have to ask me everyday and pressure me to choose faster.
- idk
- school now is a lot harder than when they were in high school
- that i don’t know exactly what they want from me and i cant read their minds
- the college process is different now
- school is challenging
- stop taking your frustration with my other siblings out on me just because i am here
- about my personality outside our family
- that i am capable of making certain decisions without being reminded of everything bad that can happen.
- need for independence to some extent
- life is not always perfect
I know I shouldn’t be surprised by their honesty and their thoughtfulness. I know I’ve worked hard to create a class where they feel safe to share such things; and at the same time, it surprises me — and I’m genuinely grateful for their trust.