Teenagers

I love teenagers...yep, I said it! I do. My teenage years were great. I had great experiences and great friends. I think my parents handled my brothers and I close to perfect as teenagers. When I decided to get my degree in teaching/history it was a no-brainer that I would go the secondary over elementary route. My student teaching experience is actually one of the best experiences of my life. I know I say all this and my own kids will probably all be rebellious as teenagers and make my life miserable...I really hope not.

I have had the opportunity to teach teenagers for the last 4-5 years at church. I am now on my 3rd set of 15-16 year olds. I get a huge kick out of them. We are currently working on The Old Testament and I am always amazed at how much they know and how insightful they are. I attempt to "dumb down" the lesson a bit for, not them, but myself-lol! I get them for about 50 min. every Sunday and I come out learning something new every week. These last three groups are great kids. I can tell some are totally forced by their parents to be at church and some can barely keep their hands off their cell phones. I have had one that has a hard time staying awake and one that has even attempted to read novels during my class. Some are very socially mature while others are still pretty awkward. I have found that some have a hard time resisting peer pressure, while others aren't phased. I actually find all of this behavior very typical and I try my best to be sensitive to their age. They love to talk about their week and their experiences and I love to hear about it all. It is preparing me for when my own kids are teenagers. Mostly, the kids are all kind-hearted, friendly and respectful. Most have amazing, loving families which is most of the reason they seem so well-adjusted. I look forward to seeing where life takes them. In the meantime, I am praying for them to have the strength to make good choices. There is no doubt that it is scarey "out there."