Secondary Principal's Parent Resource of the Week

This week's parent resource is a technical, yet fascinating, piece from the Medical Press.  A recent study has once again shown why adolescents do not respond well to reward or punishment systems.  While in adolescence, the brain is reconstructing itself.  During this time, the prefrontal cortex, or logic center, of the brain is not fully functioning.  Because of this, adolescents have a difficult time weighing the outcome compared to the effort it takes to achieve it.  In other words, they are unrealistic about the connection between the effort put into actions or behaviors and the resulting reward or punishment.