Teaching Youth

However, we know how vital it is to their Life, as they grow up and successfully participate in school, their first job, their relationships, and general society.

Like any of us, Youth facing Life ahead, without the benefit of solid Moral Values in their heads and minds … are at a serious disadvantage. A young person without cognizant foundational values in his/her character is at grave risk of being: Exploited, Deceived, Misled, And Eventually Harmed.

Let us do everything possible to help them from slipping into dark lives exploited by harmful people. Let us commit to teaching, or re-teaching, all our Youth, regardless of age, The Foundational Values. Let us teach them despite what we think they already know or maybe don’t know. It is that important: To Them, To A Promising Life Ahead For Them, And A Healthy Generation Forward.

The entire website “Awaken25.com” has been designed and written for teaching people Foundational Values in a Simple, Clear Manner. We have written this site explicitly for Adults, Young Adults, Youth, Children, and Your Small Children.

Teaching Youths in the 11-12-13 age range about anything can be a real challenge. And certainly getting them to learn Moral Values Is no small effort.

In this section of Teaching Youth, we will provide some suggestions and ideas which you might consider as a parent or guardian, as you approach a Learning Journey on Foundational Values.

What and how you choose to teach or encourage your son or daughter, grandchild, nephew, niece, or friend, is of course, always up to you. We are only interested in supporting you in this all important objective.

If you only get a single idea from our suggestion list, that would be wonderful. If you develop a really effective learning approach for Youth, please share it with others via social media.

For the Youth, in the age group of 11, 12, 13 years, paralleling the Middle School; it is our recommendation that a subset of the full 25 Foundational Values be taught by the Parent or Guardian, and/or learned by the Youth.

We suggest 20 of the Values be taught: solid, character-building Values, which provide excellent guidance in awakening moral conscience in young minds.

The 20 Values

Eleven, Twelve, And Thirteen Years Of Age; Is A Dynamic Stage Of Life

Young Teens and Near-Teens at these ages, are going through a lot of developmental change

It is a dynamic period for them to Navigate.

Bodily Change
Peer Groups
Wavering Self Confidence
Hormones Rising & Ebbing
Emotional Peaks & Valleys
Relationships: Parents,Siblings,Friends

--- Take your pick, it all happens aggressively during these years.

Eleven, Twelve, And Thirteen Years Of Age; A Period Of High Energy

It’s a bit tricky to approach teaching Youth at this age of high energy, especially with all the competing, multiple and emerging, interests swelling in their lives:

School, Sports, Music,The Opposite Sex, Appearance, Social Media, Hanging Out, Parties, Concerts, Friends...

And the list goes on !

A Period Of Reflection, Doubt, Building Self-Confidence

Compounding the optics at this age, are the formative perceptions which invariably emerge.

And as they do, feelings of self-reflection, doubt, and building confidence are frequently triggered:

Age
Looks
Gender
Intelligence
Athletic Ability
Sexual Orientation
Family’s Economic Status
Strengths & Weaknesses

An Age Of Character Formation

The 11-12-13 age period, is a time where a young person begins building a foundation to define their Individual Moral Character:

Who They Are and Who They Aren’t
What They Stand For
And What They Stand Against

Of course, it’s not a once and done event.

It’s a continuing process of development and formation, which continues upwards in the teen years, and well beyond into adulthood.
It’s a process of learning, experience, trial & error.
It’s a process of self-discovery, as well as, the guiding hands of parents and friends.
Most importantly, it is a critical period of opportunity to teach, to learn, and to grow.

For Teaching Youth, We Will Provide A Colorful, Easy To Read Slide Presentation Explaining Each Of The 20 Foundational Values, Along With Many Examples of Each Value In Action.

We think these 20 Values are easily understood at this age; and learning them, will provide a solid foundation for character growth in these younger years.

Consider it a “Lighter” version of the full 25 Foundational Values, minus the philosophy.

To Begin:

First, determine a Start Up approach. Let’s call the Youth who you would like to teach: “The Candidate” for ease of discussion.
You have four basic choices to consider on how to engage your “Candidate” in a learning process:

As a parent or guardian, you can facilitate his/her learning by helping structure an approach & disciplined process to their studying & learning The 20 Foundational Values. This is a Hands-On Approach, much in the way a teacher or instructor would engage. It requires commitment and a dedication to the overall effort.
A second alternative, is the Solo Approach. Allow the Candidate the opportunity to learn The 20 Foundational Values on his/her own; self-driven & self-motivated.
Or, third, a Combination Approach of One and Two above. The Candidate takes on the responsibility to learn the values on his/her own; yet the parent or guardian assists with encouragement, follow-up, and engagement. Engagement would entail partnering in planning out the approach; participation in some periodic / regular conversation; and active involvement with the Candidate in actuating some Values in public.
A forth method, is a Group Approach. This would be any of the alternatives above, but with more than one Candidate being taught/learning at one time.

Start Up:

After you pick an approach, commit to learning The Foundational Values yourself. Credibility and knowledge on your part only gets established, when you know what you are talking about. Learning the values yourself, would best include your spouse or partner, as well. Successfully reaching and motivating a “Candidate Youth”, takes a united front.

We recommend you learn the full 25 Foundational Values under the Adult Section. And first, reference the Learning Ideas Section for Adults, where we will provide you with guidance on how to approach and learn all these values. We provide nearly two dozen ideas to assist you in following a disciplined, yet highly effective process for mastering the value-learning. Once you have learned the values, then approach your Candidate with the self-confidence about his/her learning.

Motivation: this is Essential. You need to develop a motivation strategy to establish compelling interest and rationale for your candidate; on why learning values has value in itself. This is most easily accomplished by persuading them - on the obvious benefits to a person; who knows & lives in accord with essential moral values in their life.

Benefits Of Learning Foundational Values:

Knowing Your Foundational Values, Helps A Person To Truly Define “Who They Are”, And Equally, Who They Are Not”. You Will Learn What Defines “Good” Versus “Evil”.
You Will Definitively Learn What You Stand For, And Conversely, What You Stand Against.
It Will Help You Identify Your Strengths And Weaknesses, For Personal Growth & Future Achievement.
Learning Values Will Develop Your Intellect And Moral Character; Well Beyond The Average Youth. This Will Give You Tremendous Advantage In Socially Competing And Leading Others, With Clarity & Truth.
By Knowing Your Values; You Will Develop Your Spiritual Self, & A Closer Relationship With God.
You Will Grow Your Self Confidence, By Understanding Yourself And Others; Better And More Accurately.
When Faced With A Choice To Make In A Difficult Situation; You Will Be Equipped With Standards Of Conscience, For Making Good Choices; Based On Excellent Standards Of Conduct, Morality, And Decency.
Learning And Living Foundational Values In Your Life, Will Teach Others, Through Your Knowledge And Example. And, In So Doing, Your Will Build Quality Into Society, Thereby Strengthening Our Culture For Everyone, Especially The Young And Most Vulnerable Among Us.

Getting Underway:

Make your case to your Candidate, and “Hook-em”. Make a compelling, motivating, exciting & persuasive case for learning Foundational Values, and with it, win-over your Candidate. Anticipate his/her initial doubt or reluctance; as giving up their time on other interests at this age --- is a prime competitor.

Offer to learn with them, making it a team-effort. In other words, be open to spending time each week, same day, same place, where both of you can sit and go through a value together.

Doing It:

Pace: as we urge in every age group; Child, Youth, Young Adult, Adult … don’t rush the learning. Take the necessary time for a quality learning to occur and root.

Keep in mind, this may be the only chance your loved one may get in life at a young and formative age, to learn essential Moral Values in completeness. So help them pick a PACE for learning. It could be a value a week or a month. The key is, the pace decided upon, needs to be their choice, so they have ownership in the commitment to learn. Don’t blow it by pushing too hard or overwhelming them. They’ve got to want it, for learning to occur.

Give your Youth Candidate, access to a good computer and a comfortable learning spot. Anticipate any obstacles or excuses they might mention as a learning barrier; and remove it in advance. Clear the way for them.

As your teen reads and learns a value, we think the value learning will become “Self-Evident” to them. In other words, we believe that they will discover and realize the benefits of their learning the values. We do believe the self validation, will spur them on for more value learning; either ongoing, or sometime in the future.

In the event that you can’t interest your teen to sit down and learn the 20 Values at first try, be patient. Give him or her some time to come around.

At the very least, they will know where they can go in the future, when they are ready, to get some good and relevant information at Awaken25.com.

Here’s a few more other ideas you can do, to encourage their learning, through your support :

Set A Great Example Of The Values As You Demonstrate Them In Your Life, Each Day.
Decide On Some ”Action Activity” Like A Charitable Program, And Ask Your Youth Candidate To Help You Out One Day (Food Share, Animal Shelter, Fundraiser …).
Use The Internet (Social Media) To Make Soft Reinforcing Messages. Tweet Or Facebook, Snap-chat, Etc. Short Burst Messages About A Value Or Special Quote. Direct Them To A Special Video On YouTube.
Make Every Effort To Regularly Bring Up “Examples” Of Values In Action; On The Tv, At The Movies, In Your Neighborhood, In Your Community, Or On The News. Mention Every One, Every Time You Can, And Make An Explicit Link Between The Event You Are Citing And The Corresponding Value (Or Anti-value).
Have Your Youth Candidate Complete Some Of The Value Quiz Games.
See If You Can Get Him or Her To Commit To Teaching A Younger Child Or Teen.
Tie Learning The Values To Music Or Sports (Professional, School, College).
Be Persevering. Never Give Up! Too Much Is At Stake.

Presentation Slide Show:

Slide show can be used for individualized teaching, especially for children and teens; also for group presentations and meetings.