Subscribe to the NetworkTime Machine
If you’ve read my book Controlled Chaos (recently revised and updated as Middle School Ministry Made Simple) or if you have ever heard me speak about junior high ministry you are familiar with my insistence that one of the best things a junior high youth worker can do is to walk down junior high memory lane from time to time.
The reality is that as we age and the farther away from our own junior high experience we get, the more likely we are to forget what it’s actually like to be in junior high. For this reason, I think it’s wise to do a few things once a year or so:
- Visit your old junior high school. Drive around the perimeter, walk the halls if possible and maybe even drop in to see one of your favorite teachers (of course this won’t work for me as all of my junior high teachers can only be found in retirement homes….).
- Browse your junior high yearbook. Look at pictures, read what people wrote when they signed it.
- Walk you old stomping grounds. Go to the mall you hung out at, go to the field where you played little league, visit the Taco Bell you and your friends frequented.
I try to do most of these exercises at least once a year, and when I do I’m surprised at how many memories come flooding back. I’m reminded of my struggles, my fears, my insecurities, my hopes, my successes etc. And ultimately I’m reminded that though much has changed in our world since I was in 8th grade, the journey my students are on isn’t much different at all.
Related posts:
- Goose Bumps In yesterday’s post I mentioned that we gave each student...
- My Life Will Never Be The Same I finally broke down.I bit the bullet.I asked permission.I signed...
- Communicator Vs. Teacher In my last post I mentioned that one of my...
I actually to your list of things from and madea few of them assignments for my JH leaders, and then we came back the next meeting and debriefed. Good stuff, reveal and fun…. it was great way to start off our year.