AS children begin what can often be a bumpy transition into adolescence, the strain begins to show at home as well as in the classroom.
“Academically, year 9 is a psychological no man’s land for many kids because nothing about school is particularly new,” says child and adolescent psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg. “Unless they can be engaged, and their imaginations can be captivated, sadly they become quite disenchanted with the whole process.”
With the gloss of high school having worn off, and a long stretch left until year 12, there’s not a great deal to look forward to. Then there’s the biological complications of adolescence as their bodies grow faster than their minds.
Coping with this transformation can be tricky for parents and teachers, too. Carr-Gregg says teenagers are becoming increasingly independent, more sensitive to control and quite self-centred.
Schools often deal with this time by prescribing a treechange or a seachange. Carr-Gregg points to Lauriston Girls School as a good example. Year 9 students spend large chunks of the year at the school’s Howqua campus, near Mount Buller, where the rural setting provides a successful backdrop for academic, emotional and physical development.
“The genius of the Howqua program is that it takes all the wind out of the adolescent angst sails,” Gregg-Carr says. “You put the kids together at a point when their desire to be with their mates is stronger than ever, so you satisfy that need, and you take them away from the parents and actually have them miss them for a while.”
Lauriston principal Susan Just says year 9 is a period when girls are determining their own identities. “They are focusing on their friendship groups and their values, testing their boundaries of family and social life. There are lots of questions, and often they are quite knotty.”
Just says the Howqua year helps girls answer many of those questions. “They look at their skills, strengths and attributes, and those of other people, and how they can work as a team. They live in a house with nine to 10 other girls, so they learn living skills, negotiation, decision-making and problem-solving.”
There is a focus on applying the academic program to the local environment: science, for instance, might involve testing water quality and working with local landcare groups rather than sitting in a stuffy laboratory. Students also engage in a physical program that includes horse riding, mountain biking and camping. Not all schools, or parents, have access to retreats like Howqua, or an on-site campus specifically designed for year 9 students, but Carr-Greg says it’s the principles behind these approaches that count, not the bricks and mortar. ‘‘Anything you do that recognises the unique developmental characteristics of this period is valuable. The kids that do well are the ones who feel valued and listened to.”
Lauriston Girls’ School tour July 24, 9.30am–11am. Principal’s morning tea and school tour at 38 Huntingtower Road, Armadale. Details: call 9864 7555 or visit lauriston.vic.edu.au.
