They are adolescents. According to the dictionary, the term adolescence is derived from the Latin word adolescere, which means to "grow up." You will teach students in either a middle school, junior high school or senior high school who will range in age from 12 - 18. According to psychologists, adolescence is the period of life that is a transition from childhood and maturity. In your pedagogical training you most likely have explored in courses on human growth and development, and educational psychology a variety of theories to explain cognitive, psychosocial, physical, sexual, and emotional development of adolescents. I will explore in the next chapter some aspects of these theories, especially as they impinge on how adolescent students learn, what motivates them, and how to get them interested in learning science. However, I think it is important to realize that each of the 100 - 175 students you will teach each day is a whole person integrating a constellation of feelings, attitudes, abilities, motivations, physical attributes, and ambitions. It goes without saying that each student is unique. At the secondary education level however, these students are taking on new roles, are influenced by peer pressure, wonder who they are, and what they will become. As a science teacher, it is easy to put subject matter first because of your love for science and your commitment to teach science, and forget that you are teaching students. If you reflect for a moment that science is the vehicle that brings you and your students together. You have an opportunity to explore such questions as: How can science teaching contribute to the development of the students we teach? How can science teaching foster the development of healthy persons with positive self-concepts? How can I give the joy I sense about science to my students?

You will come to know your students in the context of a school, some of which will be large urban high schools with student bodies approaching 5,000, to small rural schools with only 100 students in each grade. The context of school is important because the institution of the school itself plays a role in the daily life of the student. Lets look at some of the students you will teach, and the kinds of environments they will encounter so as to introduce the notion that "students are first" in any discussion of learning, science education, and the profession of teaching.

Jamie. He attends a large urban high school. He has an academic curriculum and works after school three days a week and on the weekends. He comes to school by car, usually picking up three or four friends on the way. After the half-hour ride to school, Jamie goes to his locker, talks with a few friends, and goes to his first class by 8:00 A.M. His girlfriend, Monica is in his first class, so he usually there on time in order to talk briefly with her. Jamie's first class is an ESL class, which he likes because the teacher treats all the students with great respect. The teacher told the students that he would be available after school to help with an language problems.

During math class, which Jamie does not like, yet feels frustrated, because he loved math last year, but finds that a lot of time is wasted because of a group of "trouble-makers." The teacher is constantly diverted by these students tending to their misbehaviors. In the regular English class, currently being taught by a student teacher, Jamie is asked to read a poem he wrote aloud. After reading the poem, Jamie is embarrassed and just shrugs his shoulders when asked to explain what he meant by the poem. In biology, the teacher has just begun a unit on amphibians. She announces to the class that in lab this week, lab teams will dissect a frog. Jamie is not too thrilled about this.

Pat. She is thirteen years old and her family has just moved from New York City to a small town outside a large southern city. She rides the bus to school each morning, getting up at 6:00 A.M., and riding for an hour to reach school by 7:30 A.M. The school, a regional middle school, is in its second year of operation. Pat is a student in one of three eighth grade teams, each of which is comprised of about one-hundred and fifteen students and four teachers. When she arrives at school, she goes to the cafeteria to eat breakfast before going to her homeroom. She starts the day with a bowl of cereal, a biscuit and a carton of orange juice. Her first class, a pre-chemistry course, is taught by a first year teacher who has a lot of energy, and sometimes surprises the students with a mysterious demonstration. Although she doesn't like the subject of "pre-chemistry" she loves coming to this class because her teacher encourages all the students to learn and enjoy science. Her next class is math. All the students in her pre-chemistry class move in-mass to math across the hall. She hates this class. The teacher, who is also on-the-job for the first time, embarrasses the students by pointing out their mistakes, especially when they are sent to the board to "work" problems. In interrelated arts, the teacher has invited a well-known potter to come to her class to show the students some of his work, and how he makes pots. Pat is excited and looks forward to interrelated arts today. Pat's class eats at the first lunch period, which causes her to be hungry every day around 2:00 P.M. Her science teacher has asked for volunteers to form a science club. Pat is not sure whether she will go. She decides to ask two of her friends is they are going. They say they are.

Alexis. He is the oldest in a family of five children. Both of his parents work, his mother during the day, and his father at night. Alexis usually leaves home without breakfast, but stops at the "QuickMart" for a sweet roll and a soft drink. Alexis is a very quiet student and tends to keep to himself, except for two friends that he sees each day at lunch, and briefly after school while he walks to the bus station to go to work. Alexis reads at the sixth grade level, and is having a great deal of difficulty with homework assignments in English and in U.S. History. He goes to his homeroom for attendance, and then his first class, general chemistry. His teacher explained that they are using a new book this year, and the emphasis is on chemistry in the community, and how chemistry applies to everyday life. In chemistry class, the teacher is explaining the chemistry of digestion, and as he does Alexis's stomach is rumbling. When it rumbles very loudly, a student in the next seat starts to giggle, and pretty soon the back of the class is giggling. Alexis likes school okay, but he would rather be at work. He is assistant manager of the evening shift of a pizza joint, and he feels very important in this role. He often wishes he was graduated from high school, and gives a great deal of thought to dropping out. His younger brother did.

Chris. He is a fifteen year old in the seventh grade in a junior high school. He is overweight and towers over all the students. He was retained twice in the third grade, and can't wait until next year when he will be able to drop out. Chris goes to bed late each night. He lives with his mother and two older sisters in an apartment in a high rise. Chris is a member of a gang, most of whom live in his apartment building or the ones just adjacent. His gang has not been involved in any violence, but regularly meet and smoke dope. Chris knows that his teachers and especially the assistant principal keep an eye on him and his friends. Still Chris has smoked in the boys room, and come to class many times stoned. His first class is life science, and like all the remaining classes, Chris never shows up with his textbook, pencil or paper. Chris shows up to school on an average of three or four days a week, and is forever behind in his work. Chris shows some interest when the teacher does a hands-on activity, but otherwise disdains reading the text, or doing worksheet exercises. The teacher, however, rarely does a hands-on activity, because some of Chris's friends misbehave and can not be trusted with the teaching materials.

Alicia. She is a senior at a small high school in a mid-sized city in a Western state. She, like most of the students attending the school, rides the bus. She would like to have her own car, but she can't afford one, and her parents refuse to get her one. Alicia is fond of art and language, especially French, and is a member of the drama club. This year she decided to try out for one of the the lead roles in Romeo and Juliet. In art class, the teacher has agreed to help the drama coach build the set for Romeo and Juliet. Alicia offers to make some quick sketches so they can get an idea of how the different plans would look. Derek sits down next to Alicia and starts talking about how bad he is going to feel when they leave school in a few months. After class, they go to the student lounge and talk for a while longer. Alicia suddenly feels sad herself and is happy to share her feelings with Derek. The conversation becomes more personal. Derek tell Alicia that he has liked her for a very long time, but has been afraid to say anything because Alicia was dating another boy. The bell rings. Alicia and Derek have to go to separate classes. Alicia goes to advanced biology where the students are giving reports. Her mind wanders to the conversation with Derek. At lunch she does her best to avoid looking at Derek. Derek finds her after school, and talks to her again. He has tears in his eyes, and tells her how much he likes her. She tries to comfort him, but nothing helps. She goes home sad, angry and flattered.

These are only a few of countless scenarios of students in secondary schools. You can add to it from your memory store. As you progress in the process of becoming a science teacher, I hope these scenarios will help you appreciate that students in your class experience a life "outside of science" that will have a significant effect their learning, just as the theories and models of learning and teaching that will be presented in this book.