A balance act

Deirdre Newman

Intermediate school can be a tumultuous time for students as they

struggle with their identity, grapple with peer pressure and begin

rebelling against their parents in their quest for independence.

Ensign Intermediate School teacher Barbara Wagner, however, said she

believes many teenagers don’t realize how much control they can have over

their own lives just by making good decisions.

In her “Skills for Adolescence” class at the Newport Beach school,

Wagner is arming teens with the tools and strategies they need to act

responsibly.

“I believe the people who get lost in adolescence are the ones who let

other people make their decisions for them,” Wagner said. “I want to

empower them.”

Wagner, a former science teacher, created the concept for the class

and started teaching it last year, with Principal Mike McGuire’s

blessing.

“I really, firmly believe this class is a real positive thing for our

school,” McGuire said.

The class is housed in a room where sewing used to be taught and is

adjacent to a computer laboratory, where the students spend the first 10

minutes of class learning another important life skill these days --

typing.

The innovative class, which has inspired a similar class at TeWinkle

Middle School, is offered to seventh-graders for a quarter as an elective

and includes a host of life skills, such as leadership development,

decision-making, relationship development, financial planning, stress

management, and exploration of college and career options. It also

requires four hours of community service. About 70% of the school’s

seventh-graders take the class, McGuire said.

Wagner, a soft-spoken teacher, uses a microphone to teach so she can

talk in a gentle voice but still reach all the students, who can be

rambunctious at times. Her program scored a grant of nearly $10,000 from

the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation last year, enabling her to invest in

a large-screen TV -- which she uses as a blackboard -- reading materials

and sound system enhancements.

On a recent afternoon, Wagner led the students in an exercise focusing

on leadership and teamwork. The students were divided into two teams and

had to build a cube with long, plastic pieces. Then they had to balance

the cube on a small green stand.

While the first part required many students, the second required only

a few.

“The fewer hands the better,” Wagner hinted.

The students struggled to balance the cube, which seemed virtually

impossible at first, yelling at each other to either hold on to the cube

or let go of it.

One team finally realized the cube would balance when just one student

held it steady for a few seconds and then let go of it.

Wagner emphasized the subtle skills the lesson highlighted.

“Remember, sometimes the leader is someone who helps others see what

needs to be done,” she said. “Sometimes the leader is standing back --

you don’t always have to be the guy in front.”

After the exercise, the students reflected on what they learned. “We

were working with each other, but sometimes we weren’t listening,” said

Mariah Davis, 12. “We have to work harder at this age to pay attention.

It’s a good lesson to help us.”

“I think it was fun because we got to work with new people and some

people we don’t get along with,” said Ricardo Vazquez, 13.

Wagner hopes the class will be extended to a full semester next year

so she will have even more time to instill the skills she believes are

essential in her students.

“Personally, I love having the opportunity to talk to kids about these

issues,” Wagner said. “They don’t resist me the way they might resist

their parents if they say the same things.”

* Deirdre Newman covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at o7 deirdre.newman@latimes.comf7 .