Good Morning! Here’s the Monday Morning Blog!
What did you do last week? Get a chance to check in with that teen or young adult in your life?
Jim and I went to the cabin this past weekend while our young adults stayed home. As important as it is to check in with your teen or young adult on a regular basis, it is also important for both sides to get down time from each other. I came home on Saturday to attend my high school reunion. What a fun event that was, talking about the good ole days and seeing those familiar faces. Very appropriate for this month’s blog subject.
Staying with our back-to-school theme, our teen resource this month is high school. I am sure some of you are wondering, how can my high school be a resource for me? At the time, I didn’t think of it that way. It was more of a place I would go, complete schoolwork, and hang out with my friends. But when you really look at it, high school provides many things for teens, their families and the community where it is located.
Your High School
There are many activities and services that high school provides for its students and their families. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Sports and Activities
What are many high schools known for? Their sports teams. What were the most popular sports at your high school? At my high school it was Friday night football under the lights in the fall and hockey (being from Minnesota, it is a popular one) in the winter. It was not only something to get involved in, but it was also something that brought classmates and the community together.
Activities, whether they supported sports or were more academic in nature, were available for teens to be involved in. Cheerleading supported sports. Being involved in the band supported sports. I played the clarinet in our marching, concert and pep bands. I have fond memories of sitting in the bleachers in the end zone watching the game and performing in the halftime show. Then there were the activities that supported the academic side, like spelling bees, musicals and plays, and speech and debate teams.
Without high school, how would all these events have taken place or been supportive of the school and community?
Student Services
High school provides many supportive services for their students and their families. Start with the counseling department. Not only did they help get schedules set up so students would complete all their courses to graduate, but they also referred students to programs they may want or need to get involved in to help them succeed. There are tutors that students can be referred to for help in subjects they are struggling with. And there are support groups to be found that can help students with issues other than academic they are facing the challenge of dealing with.
These services and referrals can be a very helpful resource for teens and their parents to find the help they need to get through a challenge which is holding them back from succeeding.
A place to grow up with your friends
Coming of age is what many of us did in high school, with a little help from our teachers and friends. And what a better environment to have around you when you are working through those tough classes or dealing with other teen challenges like peer pressure and maybe even bullying.
Over 50% of teens say they do most of their interactions with friends at school. COVID took away a lot of that time and made teens take to their phones and social media. What effect will this have on our teens going forward when the social experience that high school presents is a key component to getting through the challenges of growing up? We saw an increase in teen anxiety and depression. And we also saw some teens struggle with remote learning which affected their ability to learn and complete the coursework they need for graduation. Check in with your teen and ask them how they are doing with it.
Activities and hanging out with friends may be limited until we are back to more in person learning, but the support you can find at your high school from classmates, teachers and administration is all there for you whether you are remote learning or in person. Be sure to ask for their help when you need it.
What activities do you or did you participate in high school? Have fond memories of those times? Please share them in the comments below. I spent some time reliving those memories with my classmates at my reunion this past weekend. Those experiences are what help us to become who we are today.
The Way Series
Looking for a couple of novels that talk about high school and coming of age? Why not give The Way Series a try?
- Book One: The Hard Way – Focuses on peer pressure and how our main character Paul navigates things when the challenge is thrown at him. See what he learns through his experience.
- Book Two: Shawn’s Way – Focuses on a challenge a lot of teens face, being the target of a bully. See how Shawn becomes a target and how he navigates the stresses that come with it.
More information about the series is available on the books tab on my website.
Have a great week!
