Dealing with difficult personalities is a skill that everyone must cultivate to be successful in this life. Not everyone gets along. Different personalities clash. But when a child isn’t getting along with a teacher, it becomes an emotional roller coaster. Although it can be heartbreaking to watch a child deal with these hard issues, think of them as life lessons.
Read moreIn the spirit of Dave Letterman, Middle Earth brings you a “Top Ten List” for teens! Our current adolescents are the next generation of leaders, so regardless of whether you’re a parent, teacher or just a community member, it is in the interest of all adults to engage youth and instill responsibility and meaning in their lives. Here are some
Read moreIt’s no news to say that young people have exchanged sexually suggestive messages to one another for generations. What is new is the technology available to do it. Have you heard of the trend in sexting? Sexting is sending sexually explicit messages or photos via cell phone or instant messenger. The problem lies with how quickly our technology can propagate
Read moreWho taught you how to cook? Or how to get a driver’s license? Or how to budget? Many of us may roll our eyes at our parents’ attempts to share these skills – how they kept hitting the imaginary brake on the passenger side of the car whenever we took the wheel or maybe it was their constant harping that
Read moreA recent New York Times article indicated that alcohol use among teenagers is highly prevalent in the latest Harry Potter movie. The Times reports that “young wizards and their adult professors are seen sipping, gulping and pouring various forms of alcohol to calm their nerves, fortify their courage or comfort their sorrows.” You can view the NYTimes article mentioned at
Read moreWas your first question when you saw this headline “what is out-of-school time?” The National Institute on Out-of-School Time (www.niost.org) reported: “In the hours after the school bell rings, violent juvenile crime soars and the prime time for juvenile crime begins. The peak hours for such crime are from 3:00 to 6:00 PM. These are also the hours when children
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