If you could add three mandatory classes for junior high students, what would they be?
Number One: NAP TIME! I don’t know who decided that kindergarten should be the end of Nap Time, but I think that’s COMPLETELY backwards. As we get older, our work load gets harder and our brains start to go:” “blehh, I don’t wanna do this all day.” We need a little chill time! Especially after lunch. I know that it’s not good to sleep right after eating because the calories stick and blah blah blah, but if you want us to function, give us some snooze time!
Number Two: Free Writing. In some English classes, this is the first 5 minutes or so, but I think that there needs to be a full class dedicated to freeing our inner creativity.
Number Three: Forbidden Fun Time, when we can just use our cell phones and play video games and go on Facebook and such so that we can actually FOCUS the rest of the day and not try to peek down at our phones every 2 minutes.
Lesson in Youth Development
Each of Siwe’s suggestions allow 10-13 year olds space for growth and creativity. Unless you are home schooling, extremely active in a school, or running an in-school program, you will have a hard time impacting changes in our children’s “time for education.” Nevertheless, you CAN be sure to engage imagination, schedule “free time,” and have fun with your favorite kids on a regular basis. And we should take note when Siwe encourages us to get more sleep. Even she recognizes how important it is to allow your body to regenerate uninterrupted.
*Ask Siwe is a weekly response to the questions you always wanted answered by a teen. Read her bio HERE.
Dream MGMT 