Kicking Off Your Sunday Shoes: Managing Risky Behavior vs. Encouraging Risk Taking

If only life with teenagers was as simple and easy as the rebellion experienced in "Footloose" and all our kids wanted was just the freedom to dance! Sometimes it feels more like an episode straight out of the Hunger Games where they are in a battle to the death for their independence and freedom (even though they don’t want to get their driver’s licenses). How confusing is that? As adults, we have done such a good job of protecting our children from the minor bangs and bruises of childhood, they have not learned how to process or predict the potential impact of risky behaviors. However, on the flip side, we have a generation of students who have far greater empowerment than any other generation in the past.  In their book “Generation Z, Unfiltered,” Elmore and McPeak state that our students have all kinds of access to information because of increased technology, so much so that they can get information without needing adults. “They are growing up in a culture that empowers them with adult tools but doesn’t simultaneously ensure they’re emotionally or cognitively equipped to leverage them well.” They predict two potential outcomes: either students will attempt very risky behavior at the first sign of freedom without regard to potential negative consequences, or they will fear risk and avoid it all together because they never learned to navigate that decision-making part of their humanness.

The teen brain is also doing some amazing work to improve. Teenagers’ brains are still continuing the work of increasing myelin, speeding neuronal communication and improving thinking, memory and problem solving. Combine this with access to technology and you have some of the most knowledgeable teenagers in history. However, as we all know, the part of the brain that specializes in impulse control, sequencing, planning and emotional control is developing at a much slower rate, leading to increased risk taking and potentially serious consequences that may significantly impact long-term physical and emotional well-being. So many students are ill-prepared to deal with taking risks that don’t go the way they hoped, increasing depression, anxiety and fear. Risk taking is fundamental to growth, but how can school counselors help guide students to healthy risk-taking behaviors that lead to growth and maturity?
 

1. Process over content – Teach how to think in order to solve problems. We need to be careful not to give advice, but to question in a way that allows students to discover for themselves. Put technology to use in uncovering the benefits vs. risks of the choices they are confronted with daily.
2. Be proactive – Develop that comprehensive counseling program that addresses the specific needs of your students and allows them to participate in the learning process. Use them to speak to their peers regarding the dangers of risky behaviors.
3. Notice and respond – Teach your staff to notice their students and to attend to those that are showing signs of unhealthy behaviors. These may need a referral to additional support services.
4. Talk about values and purpose – I cannot emphasize this enough. Students need a vision for the future and when they don’t have this, they make decisions in the moment.  One technique I use is the “Eulogy Assignment.” Ask students to write their own eulogy. What do they want to leave behind when they are no longer here? It forces forward thinking and a purpose-driven life.

I have so enjoyed this year as your OSCA president! It has given me great joy to be a part of such a fantastic organization and to meet and interact with so many of you across our great state. I look forward to continuing the work and to being able to watch the growth of our organization. I encourage you to get involved as it will challenge you, make you better and create lifelong friendships with other counselors across our state and nation as we do this very vital work. Thank you for this opportunity to serve! I have been tremendously enriched!

Christi Sturgeon, OSCA president, is a school counselor in Broken Arrow Public Schools and was named Oklahoma School Counselor of the Year for 2021–22. She also served on the former Superintendent’s Counselor Advisory Council. Contact her at csturgeon.oksca@gmail.com.