An encouraging Christmas Trend

Christmas for middle school students has always been a discouragement to me, especially because most of the students I know come from wealthy families. It seems like they always get what they want and more for Christmas (a lot like my life in middle school), which usually leaves them more selfish and ungrateful than they were before Christmas. BUT...I am seeing a growing trend among many parents this Christmas which has been an encouragement to me. More parents are giving fewer gifts to their children. More parents are focusing on teaching their children the true spirit of this holiday...giving. I have even seen some parents giving to charities or missions in their child's name. I think it's great. I think it's exactly what Jesus would want his birthday to look like. You see, Jesus' life was all about you and me. He was born in humility, lived his life with humility, and died the most humiliating death. All for you and me. So let's teach our children that Christmas is all about Jesus and all about others. That is the true spirit of Christmas. That's why we celebrate. So when Christmas morning comes around this year...let's make it about Jesus and others...not sure how you will do that...but we are celebrating the birth of Jesus, people. Jesus.

Fingertip Porn

Now that I have your attention, let me explain. Pornography has never been more accessible as it is right now. I would say that 70% of the middle school students I know have cell phones and texting capabilities. That means that any of them at any time can receive pornography via text messaging. It blows my mind to think that pornography is being passed around, even during the school day. Don't believe me? Check this out. And this. This is scary stuff, especially for parents.

So the big question is what do we do about it? Cell phones are really convenient for kids to have. I agree with this statement, but at what point does convenience need to take a backseat to safety. I am not saying that we have to start taking cell phones away completely, but I am saying that middle school students should not be entitled to any kind of privacy with these phones. It's for their own good. Most importantly, our students need to be educated about pornography and its pitfalls. There will come a day (if it hasn't happened yet) where parents will not able to protect, and students have to make their own choice about pornography. Therefore, its more important to warn and educate then just restrict.

What is most troublesome to me are the teenage girls that are sending nude pictures of themselves via text message to their friends. These girls are driving on a dead end street. So the education is for both girls and boys...and its the responsibility of parents partnering with the church. Parents, let's not bury our head in the sand about this...it's happening, and most likely your kids know all about it. Talk to them.

More information and practical action steps for parents.

What about me?

I am continually challenged by middle schoolers pushing boundaries to see how far they can go. This is a common trait that we like to say is "typical" of middle school children. As I thought about it, I was convicted to think about my own life and what boundaries I like to push. They are different boundaries then the middle schoolers, but boundaries none the less. We all like to push boundaries in some way or another. I think if we as adults were better at showing middle schoolers the right way to live and stopped telling them the right way to live we would have a mucher higher success rate. I am tired of saying "do as I say, and not as I do", with my actions. No, I never really say that verbally, but I fear we send this message on a regular basis. I will give you a small example. I regularly engage in conversations about appropriate music with my students. Did you know that as a parent, if it is on your ipod, they think that means it must be appropriate for them to listen to. That is the rational I often hear, "Its on my dad's ipod!" Ouch, that it difficult for me to hear, because anything I say from there on out does not matter to that student, dad has already "endorsed" the music. Or even worse they might ask if it is on my ipod. Am I saying that as adults we need to live by the same standards that we hold our middle schooler to? Only if we want our middle schoolers to really accept that standard and make it their own.