“Teachers in mobile societies such as the United States can provide guidance and assistance when socioemotional or academic problems arise. This role is especially important for promoting developmental competence when conditions in the family and neighborhood cannot or do not provide such supports…Such classrooms and schools would (1) provide the students with a voice in how the classroom is run and what kinds of assignments are made, (2) allow all students to be successful at the required academic and social tasks, and (3) provide emotional support to all students.” (Eccles & Roeser, 2011, p.229)

For me, this quote emphasizes the vast importance that we play as teachers in the lives of adolescents. As stated in Collins and Steinberg’s (2008) article on the shift of relationships during adolescence, this developmental period is one in which individual identity and agency is being molded, and relationships and dependency on parental guidance is less pronounced compared to peer emotional dependency. In this environment, teachers can serve as adult role models that can be available to students if necessary. For this reason, it is important that we strive for a connection with our students and try to form a connection with them so they may feel comfortable in the academic environment. Additionally, allowing students to use their agency (as specified in this quote) and express their identities in the classroom in constructive and educational ways can also lead to a positive academic and emotional experience, resulting in a relationship of trust and respect between the teacher and the students. Also allowing students to express their own interests, as well as what is most important to them in their own lives in school in order to create an accepting and comfortable environment for them is paramount in the role of being a teacher. For example, at the beginning of each new unit, my cooperating teacher creates a list made by the students of what they may know of the new subjects to be covered, what they would like to know and how they would like to learn it/what kinds of activities and projects they would like to partake in. I find this to be a small way of letting the students’ voices and opinions be heard, but I also find that allowing them to participate in activities in which they can use more of their own agency would be enriching and motivating.