Growing our brains

Sometimes, I am baffled by my students.  I have a hard time understanding why they make the decisions they do.  To me, they can't seem to see the consequences of their choices, especially as they relate to other people.  What's wrong with these young people, I sometimes wonder.

Well, maybe nothing's wrong.  Maybe my students are not self-centered.  Maybe their brains are just different than mine.

That's what I learned hearing a "Morning Edition" report on National Public Radio today.  The report suggests the brains of the 18- and 19-year-olds I teach just aren't finished growing.  Their circuits aren't completely wired until they reach the mid-20s.  And that can explain why they make what seem to be self-centered decisions.  It can also explain why they can learn new information more quickly than can a middle-aged adult like me.

Who knew?  Check out this interesting report, which is available online at "The Teen Brain: It's Just Not Grown Up Yet".

While you're online, read the companion report NPR aired this morning about the "aging" brain.  (Yes, that would be mine.)  It turns out my middle-aged brain is wired differently, too.  My brain at mid-life is wired so that I react and learn more slowly.  I make more mistakes.  But the good news is that I'm more "shrewd," and I can grow new brain cells, too.  Check it out at "The Aging Brain Is Less Quick, But More Shrewd."