Filed in: Learning & Education | Race & Equity
Pushout, Dr. Monique Morris’s new documentary, kicked off its cross country screening tour this fall, exploring the policies, practices, and beliefs that are pushing a disproportionate number of black girls out of school.
Many of the reasons for this pushout are system-related, and developmental science offers some explanation for why this issue becomes magnified during the middle and high school years.
Brain changes at the beginning of puberty appear to increase attention to social belonging and earning admiration and respect in early adolescence. For many of the girls being “pushed out,” this sensitivity is tested daily at school by metal detectors, scans for dress code violations, disciplinary policies that are often applied more harshly to black students compared to their white peers, and other daily manifestations of implicit bias.
“We all would react with a little bit of righteous indignation if people tried to control us or tell us what we should do, but that’s amplified further during this developmental window,” said Dr. Ron Dahl, the Center’s Founding Director. “Being treated in a way that feels demeaning, being controlled by others, or even subtle indications that you’re not valued or you don’t belong here can activate POWERFUL feelings of social threat during adolescence.”
The fact that black youth are more likely than their white peers to have experienced trauma related to racism, poverty, abuse can intensify this developmentally sensitized feeling of social threat.
Adolescents’ particular sensitivity to being treated respectfully can also create opportunities for healing and building resilience. Just as contexts and situations that threaten young people’s status and belonging can evoke anger and lashing out, educational environments that provide empathy and support from trusted adults can create long-lasting learning opportunities that provide positive outlets for youth to use their power.
“When girls get in trouble, we need to bring them in closer,” says Dr. Morris. That, she explains, is how we turn schools into places of healing, so they can become places for learning.
Pushout is screening at events across the U.S. this fall. Visit www.pushoutfilm.com for dates and locations.
In the last discussion of our 2024 Adolescent Brain Development Symposium, Joanna Williams, Senior Director of Research at Search Institute, took the stage with Le’Yondo Dunn, CEO of YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, and Haafizah Carter, an alumnus of the school, to talk about the impact of civic engagement on purpose.
In the third discussion of our 2024 symposium, science journalist Lydia Denworth talked with Natasha Duell, assistant professor of Psychology and Child Development at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, LaJuan Allen, director of Vote16USA, and Audrey Rothenberg, a senior at Culver City High School and volunteer at Vote16 Culver City about how civic engagement can support the need to explore and take positive risks during adolescence.
