Author, educator, and university professor Robert Sylwester explains in this volume that adolescence is a prolonged odyssey toward maturation and autonomy affecting teachers, parents, family, and the community. This marvelous rite of passage often frustrates adults because adolescents reaching for autonomy don't appreciate the level of adult direction they accepted as children. Sylwester suggests that educators, parents, and other adults can shift their perspective from child management to adolescent mentoring, and explains how to do this in ways that enhance the relationship. The key lies in understanding what's occurring in an adolescent's brain during this important developmental period.