Building Adolescent Social Intelligence With a Dance

Building Adolescent Social Intelligence With a Dance

Physical Education

Final Research Paper Outline

Adolescents in high school benefit from the planning and execution of a social event such as a dance or party physically, emotionally, and developmentally.

The high school students should help organize and throw a party for themselves.

The party should involve school staff, parents, and adult members of the community.

The planning of and the participation in dance/party combines many skills that adolescents need to develop into healthy adolescents and later into healthy adults.

The party gives the high school students opportunities to practice and hone skills that will improve their self-esteem, self-confidence, individual identity, social intelligence, and social reality construction.

Parties and Socialization

A. The party is a form of socialization that builds very important social skills.

B. The party is a demonstration of how to understand the importance of social skills for development.

C. The party is a formative experience, which illustrates importance of social skills for the future.

D. The party is a demonstration of the connections between social skills and friends.

III. Parties and Friends

A. The dance is an ideal activity to practice the skills it takes to make friends.

B. Students may not fully understand the meaning of the skills to make friends in all parts of their lives as well as in their futures.

C. The dance may contribute to the formation of friendships as well as the continuation and deepening of friendships, all of which benefit the youth in numerous ways.

IV. Parties and Adolescent Involvement

A. The dance is a positive way for increased adolescent involvement in school, which helps development.

B. Healthy development includes adolescent involvement in their own social activities.

C. Adolescent involvement in activities such as the dance fosters connection to school, community, and peers

D. The dance combines adolescent involvement, adolescent socialization, and adolescent development.

V. Adolescent Socialization and Health

A. The paper illustrates the connections among parties, socialization, development, and health.

B. The paper illustrates the present and future implications for socialization, social skills, and health.

C. Social skills and social intelligence used in the party experience will benefit adolescent health in the present and in the future.

Conclusion: The kids should participate in planning the dance/party and they should participate in the dance. The party is good for the kids because they practice social skills, expand their socialization experiences, and build friendships. All of these activities are good for the kids' physical and emotional health & intelligence. Social activities like this parties help all kids whether general education or special education, whether native speaker or ESL student. With the presence, supervision, guidance, and moderate participation of adults that are school staff, parents, and other community members, the party connections the teens to each other, the teens to the adults, and everyone to the physical space/community where the planning and party took place.

Final Research Paper

As stated in the research proposal, socialization is a key part of personal and professional success in the 21st century. The adolescent period especially can be influential with regard to an individual's social development and social intelligence. People who develop healthy social behaviors during adolescence & early adulthood practice and refine them as adults. Effective and meaningful socialization does not occur purely by accident; there is an art, skill, and a science to socialization. The students, in conjunction with school staff, parents, and other adult members of the community should organize and participate in a social event, such as dance or party. Such an event will strengthen the school, the community, and the students. Social activities have the potential to be potent learning/educational experiences while still being a leisure activity. The paper will explain the many benefits of a properly organized party for the students that requires their involvement at all stages of the dance. The party gives the high school students opportunities to practice and hone skills that will improve their self-esteem, self-confidence, individual identity, social intelligence, and social reality construction. Adolescents in high school benefit from the planning and execution of a social event such as a dance or party physically, emotionally, and developmentally.

Adolescence is a stage in human development. While adolescents are a special group of humans, when considering their development, we should consider how the party or any activity affects their overall development as humans. Humans use social activities such as parties and dances that assist in the construction and comprehension of social reality. Students that participate in the dance will gain skills in socializing and the gain skills in how to grapple with social reality. Understanding that there is a social reality is a critical skill that adolescents need as they move into adulthood. They should also be prepared in how to interpret and extrapolate meaning from social reality because they will need to navigate it. Social reality for adolescents as well as for adults is tough territory to navigate through and to survive.

…humans are understood by examining the mentalistic symbols, meanings and values of the social realities they construct…adolescents fashion these social realities by observing social phenomena and engaging in symbolic discourses within the context of socializing agents…adolescents create or become aware of meanings as they observe and interpret events in the social environment…or interact with others in social settings, (for example, with peers.) (Peterson & Peters, 1983,-Page 68)

The party is an interactive model by which student engage social reality. For many adults, high school is extremely formative. Adults also claim that in a number of social situation with other adults, the social scene and interactions closely resemble those experience during high school. The dance is an actual experience as well as a symbol to which students will refer in the future with or without their conscious awareness. The dance is a social environment after which many others in their adult lives will be patterned. Therefore the dance is a useful model and experience of the adolescent social environment.

The party/dance is a chance for fun and celebration, as well as learning. If planned and executed with consideration and research, the party will reinforce many of the components upon which professionals agree are key to healthy development of adolescents.

Scholars at research and policy centers, on national committees, in the government, at foundations, and in youth programs have reached general consensus on what constitutes healthy development. Lerner, Fisher, and Weinberg (2000) summarize the ingredients into the "five C's" (p. 15). These positive attributes encompass: competence in academic, social, and vocational areas; confidence or a positive self-identity; connection or healthy relations to community, family and peers; character or positive values, integrity, moral commitment; and caring and compassion. (Roth et al., 2000,-Page 3)

The planning stage of the party would contribute to competence in academics, social skills, and vocational areas such as construction, decoration, organization, and leadership/management. The students who assist in the planning will definitely have a strong sense of confidence and accomplishment when they see how their work is enjoyed by their peers and community. All the students and adults involved will feel a connection to each other, to the school, and to the community. Strong interpersonal connections are another sign of healthy development and a result of the proposed dance. The students will build their personal characters as well as learn about their characters. Self-exploration is a normal aspect of adolescence. When a person dedicated him/herself to a specific task to complete over time, such as a leisure event, that person knowingly or not is engaging in a way to learn more about him/herself. We often learn a lot about ourselves in the goals we set, the experiences we have as we try to accomplish the goals, and in the reception of our actions by others. The party is a fine opportunity to build all five of the C's of positive attributes and healthy adolescent development clearly and directly.

During the planning stages and participation stages of the party, the adolescents/high school students will have many opportunities to make friends and to deepen friendships. The creation and sustainment of friendships is a beneficial aspect of adolescent development and health. Friends serve many purposes that are ultimately positive for adolescents while they are young and as they develop into adults.

Cross-sectional comparisons show that, first, children who have friends are more socially competent and less troubled than children who do not; they are more sociable, cooperative, altruistic, self-confident, and less lonely…Making new friends predicts gains in school performance…Having friends thus seems to contribute specifically to affective outcomes across normative school transitions. (Hardup, 1996,-Page 4)

While the students plan the party they will work in groups based on what part of the planning in which they are involved. Students who are not friends will have the chance to socialize with students new to them as well as ones with which they are already familiar. The actual dance itself is a huge opportunity for all of the students, whether they are in advance placement or special education, to interact and be with each other. Making friends as a result of planning and having a dance will have a positive effect upon the adolescents' behavior and performance personally and academically. This is another way that having a dance for the students is a strong idea.

Participation in the dance for the students primarily means talking and dancing with each other individually and in groups of various sizes. Ideally, the talking, chatting, and mingling about will mean that some of the students become friends. Making a friend is an expression of acquired social skills. Maintaining a friendship reflects a different order of skills and development. The party is a prime opportunity for students to make friends and making friends is another significant aspect of human development with respect to social intelligence and social skills.

To have a friend presupposes that one has the social skills to make and keep that friend. For most adolescents, the rudiments of those skills are in place, and peer groups and friendships allow them to further hone those skills. For a small subset of adolescents, however, this is not the case. These adolescents may be rejected by their peers, and this rejection can have serious negative effects, such as delinquency, drug abuse, dropping out of school, and aggression (Asher & Coie, 1990). For adolescents who lack social skills, adults who informally coach them in the appropriate skill areas can be lifesavers. Discussions about how to initiate conversations with peers, give genuine compliments, be a good listener, share private information appropriately, and keep confidences can go a long way toward enhancing social skills. (APA, 2002,-Page 26)

Research study after research study, decade after decade clearly shows that socialization and social activities lead to making friends. Friends are so important to people in general and are specifically important to adolescents for the reasons listed above and more. Friends can offer comfort in the scary, exciting, and tumultuous stage that is adolescence. Friendships build cognitive skills and social intelligence. There is an array of skills necessary to maintain a friendship that kids will not likely understand immediately as skills. Nonetheless, they are there and present within each of their friendships. Dances, parties, and social events are more chances for kids to make friends. The more chances kids have to make friends, the more chances they have to circulate, meet new people, and eventually start a friendship. One strong friendship in the life of every adolescent could potentially be a lifesaver. It is not until the last two decades that researchers have taken on the subject of friendships with respect to human & adolescent development. In that time, many great strides and conclusions regarding the importance of social activities and friends.

Considerable evidence now tells us that "being liked" by other children…supports good developmental outcome; conversely, "being disliked"…is a risk factor…On the too-rare occasions in which friendships are taken into account developmentally -- either in diagnosis of research children are differentiated merely according to whether or not they have friends. This emphasis on having friends is based on two assumptions: First, making and keeping friends requires good reality-testing and social skills; "having friends" is thus a proxy for "being socially skilled." Second, friendships are believed to be developmental wellsprings in the sense that children must suspend egoism, embrace egalitarian attitudes, and deal with conflict effectively in order to maintain them…having friends is thought to bode well for the future. (Hardup, 1996,-Page 2 -- 3)

The dance will provide an opportunity for adolescent involvement. This involvement will likely affect the high school students positive with regard to their academics and with regard to their health. Healthy, age-appropriate social interaction influences adolescent health in a good way. They have the opportunity to make and have fun with friends, which contributes to confidence, positive outlook, and ability to handle changes. The dance, as it is an chance for adolescent involvement in school, provides an opportunity for the students to connect to their schools in more personal ways. These connections to each other and their schools push adolescent development and health in good directions.

Adolescents' relationship to school also appears to influence their health-related behavior. Academic achievement and involvement in school-related activities are two ways of measuring adolescents' engagement with school. Research consistently finds that adolescents with poor academic skills and low grades are more likely to engage in health-compromising behaviors… (Roth et al., 2000,-Page 10)

Therefore, successful planning and execution of a dance for the high school students will improve their achievement in most, if not all, aspects of their lives. Students who are borderline or overall poor achievers will show improvement in their social skills and academic performance. Students in special education will feel more accomplished. They will feel connected to their peers in new ways, which is very important for their development because often students in special education are socially and physically isolated from general education students. The student involvement in the dance will also improve physical and mental health. It takes some physical labor to prepare for the dance, so that is a way they will be active. Their mental health will at least improve a little because the dance is something to look forward to and something about which they can be excited.

All of the relationships that an adolescent has are important to their development and social intelligence. This is why it is critical that many different people participate in the dance. There are some responsibilities of planning the dance that can be delegated to the adolescents. Clearly some of the responsibilities must be carried out by adults, but it is important that if the party is to be more than just a leisure activity, and a social learning experience, that they be involved. The involvement of parents is beneficial because they can provide safe supervision during the planning and during the party. The first relationship models that adolescents have are the ones in the home. An intersection of familial involvement and adolescent involvement make the dance/party educational and helpful, often without the students' knowledge. Other adults such as educational professionals and staff that are involved can help facilitate the construction and practice of social skills. Some students have some natural social ability and some do not. Adult presence at the dance will help the students who are socially intelligence as well as the ones who lack social intelligence.

Professionals who come in contact with youth with more significant deficits in social skills should take the time to find ongoing professional help for these adolescents. Youth who lack social skills who also develop aggressive behaviors are likely to need professional help to eliminate their aggressive and disruptive behavior (Coie & Dodge, 1998). However, youths who lack social skills but who do not exhibit behavior problems need help as much as the youths who are acting out in antisocial ways, such as by getting into fights or having problems in school. (APA, 2002,-Page 26)

Adult and adolescent involvement in the party during the planning and participation stages can help the adolescents practice healthy behavior. The most important aspect of the party for the adolescents is the development of social skills and social intelligence. Adequate social intelligence helps prevent and diminish maladaptive and potentially destructive behaviors.

When there is adults and teen involvement in the dance, the dance becomes an intersection of the many social relationships of the students. This overlaps of relationships in a positive and safe environment contributes to healthy adolescent development. For students who may be nervous about their lack of friends or social skills, the presence of a parent, neighbor, or trusted staff can help soothe and ease anxieties. Many adolescents, socially skilled or not, have some level of anxiety or tension with respect to socializing with others. The teenage ego is fragile, in-flux, and highly impressionable. It is important for kids to perceived that they are liked. When they see at the dance there are adults who they know like them, their presence may relax them enough to socialize more and have some fun.

An important aspect of socialization is the acquisition of social meaning and behavior from experiences with families, schools, peers groups, work settings, and the mass media…Recently, newer approaches have been developed emphasizing the importance of particular "interconnections" among social institutions for the social development youth…Emphasis has been placed on the idea that youth develop their conceptions of social reality from concurrent experiences in a variety of contexts. Social reality, in this case, refers to the meanings, values, attitudes, norms, and roles that form the basis for social interactions. (1983,-Page 67)

The quote above shows another way in which the dance will help the students acquire social skills and help them understand social reality. Understanding social reality is key to socialization in all forms, including making friendships. Adolescents who do not understand how to read and interpret body language, norms, and various kinds of social roles, will not navigate any social environment well. As stated throughout the papers, adolescents who do no have social skills have increased probabilities for truancy, violence, social disorders, and other conditions that would only further isolate and socially retard them. To avoid such dangers during such a vulnerable stage of development, activities and involvement in things such as the proposed dance would increase the chances of more healthy adolescents and more healthy adults.