Two Cents Tuesday: Junior High Students
7 Comments Published by Terrace Crawford on 8/9/11 at 7:17 AM.
"Two Cents Tuesdays" is a blog series where you get to help other church leaders who are struggling where they are. I take one question (one scenario) each week from my mail bag (...er email inbox) and share it with you (protecting the innocent of course by keeping it anonymous). I want your TWO CENTS.
Our junior high ministry is predominately made up of boys. We have some trouble keeping the group focused and on track. Some of our parents have expressed concern recently about their teens being in our group because the guys tend to be a bit rowdy. We have great leaders who serve in our ministry and they do a good job of monitoring things and I think this could just be a case of protective parenting. A few questions here: 1) Isn't this normal for Junior Highers (especially guys)? 2) How can I help the group stay a little more focused during our time together? Do you have suggestions?
So what say you? Have any advice for this Junior High youth worker? What "two cents" would you offer?
Labels: Resources, two cents tuesday, Youth Pastors, Youth workers
A few things I do is one, give the trouble makers/ or loud ones something to do. help run sound, lighting, or give them things to look for in your message. Teach them to take notes. Another thing I do is separate them. And keep things quick and short. Keep things changing. otherwise they'll fade fast.
Maybe another question is in order: "Why don't girls show up/stick around in your jh ministry?" A potential answer to this question would be to focus more on programming to the girls. If you are a male youth pastor, let female leaders help plan, give feedback, and have input in general into the ministry. If you are a female youth pastor, dont be afraid of letting your female-ness influence what you do and how you program. My experience is that most JH ministries could use a little more of a feminine touch, which doesn't mean making sure that you hit the girls with dodgeballs too! :)
My guess is that adding more female influence may in fact bring a better balance to the atmosphere. The guys that are rambunctious may find space to also be a bit more mellow. I think it's important to create space for craziness and also space for calm. Part of our job is sculpting the mood and culture of our group.
This is very normal for Jr. High boys. I have been working as a Jr. High pastor for 4 1/2 years and what I find to help the group stay focus is to channel their energy in a specific area. For example, I have the spastic kids do a specific task during a talk (run PowerPoint, run the soundboard, etc...). This allows my noisy kids to focus and to keep from being a distraction to others. Most of the "rowdiness" stems from one or two kids like this.
In addition, I have parents rotate in and out often to see how their child behaves. This has two advantages: 1. It shows the parents that you are doing your best to control the situation. 2. It gives them a understanding of what you do and how their kids behaves.
Finally, I use Doug Field's method of discipline. He calls it the 3 "R's". Request the student to quit being a disruption. If the misbehavior continues, re-seat the students next to or as close to an adult as possible. If the problem still persist, remove the individual from the room.
I hope this helps you out some!
I have made good use of all of these comments to varying degrees of success. One thing that I would add is wearing them out a little before doing your teaching. As a former junior high teacher I noticed that many times after PE was a good time for instruction because they had gotten rid of some of their energy. I would also wait to feed them any snacks till afterwards as well! =-)
I have made good use of all of these comments to varying degrees of success. One thing that I would add is wearing them out a little before doing your teaching. As a former junior high teacher I noticed that many times after PE was a good time for instruction because they had gotten rid of some of their energy. I would also wait to feed them any snacks till afterwards as well! =-)
Middle-Schoolers are notorious for shenanigans that cause parents and Youth Leaders alike to question their callings. All of the advice given thus far is solid. One of the things I have done is to recruit some High School guys to come and be a part of that ministry as 'Helpers'. There is nothing that strikes awe and respect into the heart of a middle-school boy like a high school boy. Let them know that their job is to help mentor these difficult boys. And then give them guidance, so they don't become frustrated with the same things. I was that difficult Jr. High boy, and a high school guy took special interest in me, even outside of youth group, mentored me, and ultimately changed my life.
Middle School boys are notorious for shenanigans that cause both parents and youth workers to question their calling. All of the advice given so far has been very solid, and worth trying. One of the things that I have done is to recruit some High School guys as mentors and helpers in your ministry. Nothing strikes awe and respect into the heart of a middle school boy like a high school guy. Give the high schoolers some guidelines and training on how to deal appropriately with disruptions, and then let them work.
I was that disruptive middle school boy, and a high school guy appropriately mentored me and changed the course of my life.
Good luck,
Mike