“Group boundaries are somewhat permeable in middle school, but not completely so. Middle schoolers are newly aware of the way that their identity is shaped by their membership in such groups, which might be defined by musical tastes, clothes, sports, computer games, or even just the manner in which they navigate the corridors. “
Cushman,K., Rogers, L. (2008). Everything is off balance. In fires in the middle school bathroom: advice for teachers from middle school students (pp.22). new York: The New Press.

During adolescence, teenagers need to face pressure from not only the biological change of their bodies, but also psychological pressure from their surroundings. As they explore to build their social values during middle schools or high schools, they are very likely to imitate their peers in terms of dressing style, activity and attitudes because they have the desire to be accepted by a group. While, at the meantime, they also want to build up their own personalities to be distinguished from the main group, or mainstream social values. However, they are not cognitively ready to be criticized by social norms, so they are very likely to commit some extreme behaviors, like suicide or violence. For example, in The Story of a Suicide (Parker, I. 2012 February), Clementi, a gay college student, committed suicide due to his roommate video recording his sexual behavior with others. Therefore, adolescents are sensitive and fragile, and could impulsively involve in irrational behaviors.
Knowing these psychological changes of adolescents is very crucial to teachers because it can help improve teacher-student relationship, and also could help rectify misbehaviors. For example, when students are suffering pressure from interpersonal relationship, they might be struggling between being themselves or blend in with a group. In this case, teachers should help them find out the best way to show their unique personalities as well as being accepted by the general public instead of a specific Fraternity or Sorority group. Also, helping them to build a formidable mentality to deal with judgment and criticism.