Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 3, Week 342 (232 total reports)
21.11.2024-27.11.2024
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel, MBA, D.Min.
Looking for resources to grow resilience in your life and the lives of the young people around you?
Song of the Week
This song examines the aspects of mature hope; a hope that is founded in acts of service, a hope that leads to resilience.
Top Links of the Week
27.11.2024
Teaching Students How to Debunk Myths About Misinformation
Social Media is a major part of young people’s lives today and we are fooling ourselves if we think that is going to decrease. Good education prepares young people for the future that THEY will live in, not the past that educators (or administrators, or school boards) USED to live in. Taking phones out of schools does not prepare young people for their future. Creative educators find ways to include technology into their daily activities, rather than acting as if they are competing against it. That includes teaching young people to recognize and “debunk” the misinformation they receive—and are going to continue to receive—as they become adults. I’m old enough to remember when math teachers protested the use of calculators in classrooms, because those teachers had been trained in using the slide rule. Obviously, educators were on the wrong side of that argument. They are just as likely to be on the wrong side of this argument if they don’t find ways to utilize technology, instead of running from it.
26.11.2024
It’s Not the Economy, Stupid
There’s a lot of simplistic, singular, theories about why the Democrats lost this last election, each of them might have a part of the truth, this article takes a deeper dive into a combination of causes that had rippling effects on the whole.
25.11.2024
These US cities scored top marks for commitment to LGBTQ+ rights – is yours one of them?
Will there be safe havens for those people whom the right seems to love to hate? Already the Project 2025 minions are suggesting that cities not supportive of their policies will lose financial assistance. Trump suggested doing this when he was president by not providing disaster relief to States that did not support him. We can surely expect him to take those principles further in the future. If you have LGBTQ+ people in your relationships (as I do), this list of cities might be essential.
24.11.2024
The Virtual Gratitude Visit
Gratitude is a life-enhancing habit and intentional decision. A Gratitude-Visit was a therapy tool suggested by Martin Seligman (one of my favorite psychologists) in his book, “Authentic Happiness.” This article elaborates upon the practice of gratitude and the components of a Gratitude Visit, then further applies them to helping deal with grief. The grieving process is neither linear nor simple. Practices like this assist people in narrating the new story that needs to be created following loss.
23.11.2024
Reclaim Your Playful, Courageous Self with This Fear-Busting Life Advice
This brief review, is well-worth the short read and you might even want to invest in the book. What holds us back from the life we inwardly believe we are supposed to live? According to this author, it is our fears. Also, according to this author, those fears can be addressed and relocated to a place they can’t prevent you from maximizing the joy (and potential) in your life. It’s a brief read, and well-worth it.
22.11.2024
Three Ways to Become a Deeper Thinker
Taking us on a journey from Zen Buddhism to Carl Jung, Arthur Brooks hints that we have become “spiritually flabby” and it has negative affected our well-being. Citing research, Brooks points out that young people who are encouraged to study life’s “unanswerable questions,” have better cognitive health than those that do not. He also refers to neurological research as to why this occurs. In the article, he raises a few of the questions that are difficult to answer, which allows us the chance for a timely mental workout. Take a look through the article, let your brain work through some of the questions, if you know a young person, let them explore them with you—even if it is frustrating—it is a critical cognitive exercise that we could all use, especially now as so many unanswerable questions face us.
21.11.2024
The Gettysburg Address Really Holds Up
At times (like these), it is particularly important to remember what greatness sounds like. In this article, Charles R. Pierce, reminds us of the power of 269 words. Lincoln’s 269 words shared at Gettysburg, also during a time of great upheaval. All the greatest leaders in the world have one thing in common, they rose to influence in times of great stress. Many of them, did not seek power, most did not seek notoriety. Behind their great accomplishments, most were very humble people. Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address stands as a testament to strength in adversity. Take time to read them again (they are contained in this article) and reflect on their pertinence today.