Editor’s note: Gordon will be joining us for a support session in the upcoming course, Making Sense of Adolescence Part I: Seven Rites of Passage, being offered in January 2023. See Scheduled Online Classes below for details.

Adolescence envelops us! From the youth culture that dominates today's society and the failed rites of passage that remain as unfinished business for many adults, to the presence of adolescents themselves in our homes and classrooms and apprehensions we have in anticipation of parenting or teaching them, the dynamics and issues of adolescence affect us all. 

It would be a difficult dance even if adolescent dynamics were well understood; instead, we seem to be lacking this intuitive wisdom. What was, up until a century or two ago at least, a short bridge between childhood and adulthood, has in recent times become as long again in years as childhood itself. Without the thousands of years typically required for cultural wisdom to evolve, confusion reigns. Added to this are the incredible myths – presumed to be enlightened - that are rooted in this confusion. Two assumptions in particular, blind us to adolescent dynamics and skew our interactions accordingly. The first myth is that adolescence is primarily about individuation and independence, despite significant evidence to the contrary. The second myth is that healthy development requires that adolescents replace their parents and other adult responsible for them, with their peers. Our blind adherence to these myths keeps us from becoming the parents, teachers, grandparents and counsellors, who our adolescents so desperately need. 

Hence the course. It was the very first course of mine that was successfully filmed and made into a DVD, now some 20 years ago. The material - organized around seven rites of passage - has stood the test of time, with some additional material on feelings and play being added to the fourth edition. The course has been well received by thousands of educators and counsellors, but in my mind, was always meant for every adult, as adolescence does indeed envelop us. This course can be used to make sense of one's own adolescence, to identify the unfinished business of adolescence, to prepare for parenting or teaching or working with adolescents, to make sense of adolescence more generally in our culture, and of course, to help the adolescents in our care successfully navigate the rites of passage to become mature adults.