Saturday, September 27, 2014
Children's Morality
Post due by 10/4 Class
Take a look at this clip on "morality" in babies. How can we make sense of this considering what [think] we know about social learning (Vygotsky) and about the development of morality (Kohlberg)? Do these babies really have a sense of justice or sense of right and wrong? In the second portion, older kids seem to change in their understanding of right and wrong. How do we make sense of this based on Kohlberg's assertions?
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Youth and Sticky Faith
Post Due by 9/27 class:
See the following excerpt from an article by Jen Bradbury published in May 2013 (See this link for the whole article: http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-05/sticky-faith). Bradbury makes an argument for ways youth ministries need to work to help teens build faith that is sustainable over time, rather than focusing on short-term excitement. She says that the key is to keep the focus on Jesus:
"For youth ministries to become truly Christ-centered, though, conversations about the Jesus of scripture cannot be limited to mission trips. Instead, cracking open a Bible and wrestling with its content must become part of a youth ministry’s DNA.
I saw the impact of this when I was teaching the story of the widow’s mite during one of my ministry’s weekly gatherings. Students reacted with shock at the thought of Jesus watching people putting money into the temple treasury. His scrutiny of people’s behavior seemed judgmental to these teens—it directly conflicted with their image of Jesus as a nice man. But after being surprised by Jesus in this story, these teens could no longer ignore him as easily. They were driven deeper into scripture to wrestle with a person who had suddenly become real to them.
In scripture, teens discover that Jesus’ message is neither fire and brimstone nor the string of never-ending niceties that they expect. By examining Jesus’ relationship with his disciples, they realize he wants more than their happiness and demands more than their half-hearted allegiance. He wants their very lives, something that appeals greatly to a generation looking for a leader worth following and a cause worth committing their lives to."
Think about our discussion of where teens might be developmentally, both in the cognitive and social realms. How does Bradbury's assertion relate to the primary developmental tasks of adolescence?
See the following excerpt from an article by Jen Bradbury published in May 2013 (See this link for the whole article: http://www.christiancentury.org/article/2013-05/sticky-faith). Bradbury makes an argument for ways youth ministries need to work to help teens build faith that is sustainable over time, rather than focusing on short-term excitement. She says that the key is to keep the focus on Jesus:
"For youth ministries to become truly Christ-centered, though, conversations about the Jesus of scripture cannot be limited to mission trips. Instead, cracking open a Bible and wrestling with its content must become part of a youth ministry’s DNA.
I saw the impact of this when I was teaching the story of the widow’s mite during one of my ministry’s weekly gatherings. Students reacted with shock at the thought of Jesus watching people putting money into the temple treasury. His scrutiny of people’s behavior seemed judgmental to these teens—it directly conflicted with their image of Jesus as a nice man. But after being surprised by Jesus in this story, these teens could no longer ignore him as easily. They were driven deeper into scripture to wrestle with a person who had suddenly become real to them.
In scripture, teens discover that Jesus’ message is neither fire and brimstone nor the string of never-ending niceties that they expect. By examining Jesus’ relationship with his disciples, they realize he wants more than their happiness and demands more than their half-hearted allegiance. He wants their very lives, something that appeals greatly to a generation looking for a leader worth following and a cause worth committing their lives to."
Think about our discussion of where teens might be developmentally, both in the cognitive and social realms. How does Bradbury's assertion relate to the primary developmental tasks of adolescence?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)