WHAT TO TEACH TEENS?

In today's world, so much is lost.  What do we teach our children, our teens, who have to muddle their way thru the  maze of puberty, school, sports, dating, social media, and religion?  There are so many avenues of choice for these youngsters!  The Internet, politics, socialized education, MTV, X-box, Itunes, and the draw of the occult in movies have all thrown "curve balls" and "forks in their roads" as to what they should think, where they should go and what kind of person to be.

It's not enough to give the do's and don'ts for them, and to put the Ten Commandments in their face...especially when the adults around them are breaking many of them.  I decided to take the 7 deadly sins and their counterpart virtues...and explain them in a way that is true to Catholic teaching.  Much of Catholicism is rather extensive and "heady" for many--so with the help of the Holy Spirit--I hope to make it applicable to the teenage life in religion class.  So for each month, we will take on one of the 7 sins and 1 virtue!  We will discuss them in terms of their age level and ways that affect them.  For example: Lust & Chastity.  The greatest threat to our teens is their raging hormones and the constant barrage of sexuality in every media that they encounter in their daily lives.  Peer pressure is an added weight to them.  Contrary to popular notions--Catholic kids or Christian kids are NOT HOLIER than everyone else!  Parents who deceive themselves that their children go to a religious school or to church every Sunday are not active sexually or contemplating it are the ones most surprised when things like pregnancy, rape, STD's, drugs, drinking, homosexuality, bi-sexuality, transsexuals, and transgender issues appear.  It isn't something that happens to "THOSE OTHER KIDS".  

How do we discuss girls dressing modestly when all the stores and malls only carry revealing clothing?  How do we convince our boys that masculinity is NOT proving how many girls he can score?  How do we seriously have conversations about alcohol when its a staple in many Catholic homes?  Why are we surprised that Johnny doesn't believe in God or Church anymore when society screams that there are many ways to God, or that the Christian God is a myth, or worse...that there is no God...science trumps theology?  It's not enough to tell them they should not do this or that...we have to be an example.  We have to explain a little deeper than memorizing the Commandments, the 7 deadly sins, the Virtues, the Rosary, the Lord's Prayer, etc...we have to take our teaching to a deeper level.

Ask a teen what lust is and watch their eyes gloss over...."like what do ya mean?"  How many 14 yr.olds know what "chastity or chaste" mean?  There is truly a "dumbing down" in America...kids today don't know as much as you think.  They are tech-saavy...but they lack a more meaningful vocabulary.  They lack critical thinking of how to "apply" what something means to them on a personal level. We assume this is a given--let me assure you...it is not.  Many adults are not capable of this either.  Everything has to be entertaining and exciting or they are bored....how does one make serious life-changing lessons appealing to a 14 yr. old?  They are not little kids and not yet adults...caught between is a very confusing place for student and teacher.

  How many activities can we come up with for Thanksgiving....for youngsters...TONS!  For the teen, its a bit more challenging!  They don't want to make cut-outs, placemats, and "I am thankful for" lists anymore.  They want to get class over with!  So how to make them thankful for God, the virtues, the Commandments, the Bible, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and for Salvation....when their minds are preoccupied with sports, dance, video games, music and the boyfriend/ girlfriend?  This age group is a challenge...can't go too deep but cannot be too shallow either.  We want to equip them with enough understanding and knowledge to make good choices and to grasp why God made them and what Jesus truly did for us--to have an impact on the choices they make in life! May God grant me His Words, His Lessons, His Power and teach thru me this year in the Confirmation Class.  May the Holy Spirit soften their hearts, open their understanding, and illuminate personally what each child needs!