HANDLE

     Who has a handle on teens now of days? Should someone have a handle on teens?

Maybe that word handle needs to be HANDLED! Let’s face it. We are all now in a new

age. An age that has been described as REVOLUTIONARY! Within that word revolution

sits, so comfortably, the word EVOLUTION— The proper word to describe our new-

birthed teens. They have evolved into these... technological creatures. If we could point

the finger at these newly fueled techies without fault, it would all be so simple. However,

with that one index finger pointing towards them, there are three that point back at us,

ourselves. Time to handle the handlers.

     We so often want to get a handle on teens that so soon we forget we might have been the

ones who caused this. Didn't we want life to be easy? Every year we await the newest

gadget or invention that makes life so much more simpler. Didn't the idea of being

carefree put you at bliss? Let everything take care of itself; Little to no maintenance. Well,

if that’s what we wanted, that is exactly what we got— Carefree teens!! Maybe not

carefree teens, but free spirited for lack of a better word.

     Many don’t realize how beneficial these teens are. They withhold the power to think out of

the box. Not just out of the box but out of the box on extreme levels. There has been a

shift in the minds of teens and young adults around the world. This is happening so fast at

such an alarming rate there is a gap between the old and the young. Often we hear “We

weren’t raised that way”, “That’s not what we did back in my day”, “I can’t stand today’s

generation”. I, too, said some of those phrases. It wasn’t until I read an article that talked

about how significant the newest generation of children were, that gave me a new

appreciation for these beings. 

     Not only had I been reminded by this article that we should 

cherish this generation, but a business meeting with a friend (and a fellow teacher might I

add), caused me to rethink it all. I had been going about helping this new generation in

the wrong way! Going to my son’s school, I would speak to the children. In my

neighborhood, I would “preach” to the teens. At my youngest child’s school, I made it my

business to speak with them (the lads) everyday.

     What was I doing wrong? I was talking and I wasn’t listening. These teens need us to

listen to them. They aren’t as “mindless” as we think. We may think they know too much

but hey with the help of our generation and generations before wanting instant

gratification, they now have access to high speed internet. Texting and web surfing they

learn it all. 

     What happens when a child is ahead of other students in school? Well, they

move up of course (if the parent permits)! Some don’t want their children to speed

through their childhood. But are they really speeding through childhood? Not if we help

them and steer them along the road of SUPERIOR PROGRESSION! They are like clay—

We have to mold them and push them to be great. Doing the granny scold is not going to

get these young adults to teach us the new wave. It surely isn’t going to make them stop.

So what do we do? We have to support them. How do we support them? Find out what

they know. Find out what they want to know. Create a platform to allow them to be the

scientists they are. That’s what they are you know. Scientists of the new era. The new

age. 

     Our beliefs will soon die and we can either pass the torch and help the knowledge or

die out, without giving contribution. Whitney said it best with her 80’s hit, “The Greatest

Love Of All” — “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and LET THEM

LEAD THE WAY”.

Can you HANDLE that?