Summary of Laurence Steinberg's Age of Opportunity

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 We must reassess how we are raising our young people because we’ve learned a lot about adolescence as a stage of development since the 1990s. Adolescence is now a much longer period, and children are entering it earlier than ever. #2 The adolescent brain is highly plastic, which means it can change and develop based on the environment it is in. This is both good and bad news. If we provide our adolescents with positive, supportive environments, they will flourish. But if the environments are toxic, they will suffer in powerful and enduring ways. #3 The brain is highly plastic during adolescence, and this period of growth is more sensitive to experience than any other in our lives. The brain’s malleability allows change for the better, but it also allows change for the worse. #4 American adolescents are not doing well. There have been no gains in scores on standardized tests of high-school achievement since the 1970s, and American adolescents continue to underperform teens from many industrialized countries that spend less on schooling.