Well, when I think of middle schoolers I think of my sister who is in middle school. There are times when I think that she is fully incapable of learning, but weeks later she will surprise me with some tidbit of information that she had retained. The opportunities for middle schoolers I think are that they are very open and receptive to modeling. Middle school is a time where kids look to idols and mentors and it is a great time to be a positive mentor and introduce strong Christian figures and heroes that they can look to i.e. St. Francis, Martin Luther, Shaine Claiborne. Especially for my sister it helps her to see real people that live a life like Jesus in the here and now. For the recreational aspect middle schoolers love to play games and have fun. As far as limitations, I think that middle schoolers can dig in deep to the word, but their attention span and thinking capacities are similar to that of a small rabbit especially if social media is not utilized. Also for recreation sometimes kids don't want to cross the middle school cliques and hang out with the other kids.
I hope this question isn't confusing. The more experience you have had with middle schoolers then your answers will probably be better. My experience is limited.
I think the limitations are more put on by those leading the students, this is not always but I have seen it and done so myself before. This is not a good thing, limiting the students in ways that they really arent limited can hurt thier self confidence and other things. It is very important to get to know the studetns you are teaching and learning with before you decide what they can and can not do. A big thing in education is to meet the students where they are. This can be meeting them a lower level than what may first been seen or meeting them at a higher level. Opportunities are wider than I can really think of, this is because I dont work with them on a regular basis. From the stories that I have been told and the experiences I have had it seems to be very importnat that you, again, GET TO KNOW THE STUDENTS.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations going into MSO was that we could do the best we can and make it though the night. I saw a good amount of students enjoying thier time and I was glad to give them that chance to do so.
I sort of agree with Emalee. I think the limitations of middle schoolers is often times blown way out of proportion by leaders. Everyone seems to be afraid of dealing with middle schoolers (myself included at times). And the truth is, they can often times be difficult if you are expecting them to be. They can get out of hand and get loud, obnoxious, have short attention spans, being socially awkward, and all the things we stereotype them to be. But it is made much worse when we try to suppress everything they do and focus so much on controlling them.
ReplyDeleteThe reality is, when we realize these aspects of middle schoolers and plan to work with them, there can be some great oppertunities with them. Their energy, passion, and need for community can be very useful for ministry and can be very easy to work with if thought through properly.
As for MSO, I got to do it last year so I somewhat already knew what to expect. But I was definitely having the expectation that they would be loud, crazy, and essentially be feeding off each others' energy.
I think Emalee had a great point about meeting the middle schoolers where they are, not to pressure them into things they may not be able to accomplish. I have little experience with a lot of middle schoolers, aside from my nephew I have no personal relation to that age group. I generally work with younger children. But going into MSO I had great expectations to hate the event because I feel uncomfortable around them, but I really had a great time with them and they seemed to have a good time too.
ReplyDeleteSome of the limitations that I know still occur with Jr. Highers is that they are still a little immature in their thinking and though I am for allowing them a little freedom to get a little crazy, loud, and obnoxious, they still need great supervision. I've worked with a few Jr. High events and I was a Jr. Higher myself not many years back, and to get in trouble was not out of question, instead it was an expectation for my life and many of those I've worked with. They are great kids, but they need more supervision than any other age group I can think of. As for going into MSO, sort of like Tyler, I've worked with Jr. High events, but this was about triple the size, and triple the crazy. It was a great time though in really experiencing the pure craziness of the Jr. High age, and get a good dose of what your getting yourself into. If you can handle MSO, you can take on any Jr. High youth program, haha
ReplyDeleteI think that middle school students are hitting that point in their life where everything is changing, from their bodies to the world around them. Because of this it is sometimes hard to know how to reach them best, they want to be like teenagers but still have some kid in them too. So it is just about finding the balance in what they will respond to best. As far as going into MSO, i have never helped to run a middle school event so all I was thinking was mass chaos with a big heap of attitude. Most of the kids were amazing and seemed to have a great time. This event was huge and crazy but a lot of fun
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