Seniors Present On The Teenage Brain For English Seminar Project

At Crossroads, senior electives serve as the capstone for the English program, offering students the chance to explore specific genres or themes in-depth. All courses emphasize foundational skills in reading, writing, critical thinking and communication. Class offerings include Horror, LA Story, To Existentialism and Beyond, and Literature and Psychology.

For a recent Literature and Psychology project, students were asked to use the tools of psychology to explore the complex relationship between literature and the teenage brain. First, students developed a basic knowledge of psychology, conducting research on adolescent brain development. Through the lens of this research, they chose a text from popular culture—be it a book, TV show, song or movie—to analyze, considering whether themes in the text accurately represent science. 

“The adolescent brain is not just a smaller version of an adult brain, it is a system in transition—hormonal changes and much more,” explained Kiki Greenhut in his presentation. “Key regions, like the prefrontal cortex which is in charge of decision making and self control are still developing, while the limbic system—which processes emotion—is highly active. This makes teens uniquely capable of learning and forming memories, but also vulnerable to influences that can alter the brain pathways.” 

Devyn Rogers explained how the portrayal of teen drug use in the popular show “Euphoria” accurately reflects the ways in which teens are more susceptible to addiction as they experience higher surges of dopamine, less impulse control, more peer pressure and a developing ability to manage stress. 

Gaby Shiao analyzed Elizabeth Eulberg’s short story “In the Blink of An Eye,” from the romance anthology “Serendipity,” sharing which aspects of teenage brain development the author accurately portrayed and which were oversimplified. She noted that the ability to connect the class to real-world topics teenagers face was part of what made the research so fascinating.

“I liked the project a lot because I love to read but also because everyone’s going through their own relationships,” said Gaby. “Just realizing that there’s so much going on in the brain beyond the feeling you experience, I thought was really interesting.” 

In addition to having a broader understanding of their own brain development, the project encouraged students to engage critically with texts, teaching valuable media literacy skills that apply not only to reading, but to their consumption of media and pop culture.

“A big part of this course is teaching students to look at people and stories through multiple lenses,” shared Upper School English Teacher Natalie Stone. “When you bring in neuroscience, development, and psychology, you start to see that behavior is rarely just about choice or character. It’s about context, history and what’s happening inside the brain. That shift in perspective is what makes students’ analysis and their empathy deeper.”