1. Encountering New Life Forms: Meeting Adolescent Needs Meet the Millennials

2. Development of the Person:  Primary  Primary needs UnlearnedUnlearned  Secondary  Secondary needs LearnedLearned –Toward –Toward self-sufficiency self-actualization

3. Who ARE these people?  Born in the ‘90’s  Have credit/debit cards & are in debt  Can multitask  Grew up with the internet  Are ethnically, racially diverse  Spiritual/not religious  Are vegans  Are looking for causes  Are conventional: drugs, pregnancy down  Not angry w/Church  Stressed/busy  Conformist

4. Strommen’s Five Cries of Youth  The cry of the unloved  The cry of the orphan  The cry of social protest  The cry of prejudice  The cry of the joyful

5. The Cry of the Unloved  They are more focused on crucifixion than resurrection  Looking for love in all the wrong places  Not sure where they fit.  Have achieved alienation and anomie from the Internet.

6. The cry of the orphan  Stuck between dependence and independence  They are quite different from their parents’ generation  They have been left alone since they were very young  They have been “scheduled” for a long time.

7. The Cry of Social Protest  More diverse, racially, ethnically, than any other generation.  Conventional in outlook; their aspirations are very conservative.  Sense of tolerance: it’s cool to be Catholic, whatever that means.  They want what we gave up in the ‘60’s

8. The Cry of Prejudice  Have been raised to be intolerant; but when with peers, are very tolerant.  Consider themselves the center of the universe; can’t understand why they are not.  Build frameworks, and then decide if they want to be there.

9. The Cry of the Joyful  They are happy, conformist, want to be a part of the group  Want to know how to channel joy and not feel guilty  Want a sense of hope and optimism.

10. What do Catholic teens believe? : 91% believe bread & wine become Body & Blood of Christ 62% take seriously the pronouncements of the Pope 77% say they can be good Catholics without going to church 56% say that they can be good Catholics without donating time or money to help the poor. 93% believe that Jesus was the Son of God 55% believe that the Catholic Church is the “one true church” 72% believe that you can be a good Catholic & not agree with Church teaching on birth control, 65% disagree with Church teaching on divorce & remarriage, 53% say you can disagree with Church teaching on abortion.

11. Teens Pray Often... ( 2004: American Bible Society )

12. Teens Believe in Power of Prayer Teens use: Personal Prayer:54% Lord’s Prayer: 22% Other type: 11% ( 2004: American Bible Society)

13. Nearly 90% of US teens say there is an overall purpose to their lives (2004 Gallup Survey)

14. Worries of Adolescents 56% school performance22% my parents might divorce 53% looks21% I may die soon 48% others like me19% sexual abuse 47% one parent might die18% trouble from friends 45% how I’m treated by friends 38% societal ills15% parent’s drinking 36% violence at school12% getting beat up at school 35% I might lose a friend11% I might kill myself 35% drugs/alcohol 30% might not get a good job 26% body normality 25% US nuked (Source: Gallup Poll, 1999)

15. Self-development tasks  1. Achieving mature relations with age-mates of both sexes;  2. Achieving a masculine or feminine identity;  3. Accepting one’s body;  4. Achieving emotional independence  5. Selecting & preparing for career;  6. Achieving financial independence;  7. Preparing for marriage & family life  8. Socially responsible behavior  9. Ethics & set of values.

16. More adolescent tasks:  Develop & apply abstract thinking skills  Develop empathy  Develop new coping skills;e.g.: problem solving, conflict resolution  Identify meaningful moral standards  Understand & express complex emotional experiences  Form close friendships  Establish key aspects of identity  Meet demands of increasingly mature roles & responsibilities  Renegotiate relationships with adults in parenting roles

17. Some Adolescent Issues b Sleep b Sex b Self-image b Comfort b Independence b Peers b Ethics

18. How do we encounter them?  Listen, listen, listen  Stick with them  Keep asking questions  Take them seriously  Dare them to dream  Work with parents; undivided time  Understand that they are unfinished beings Why? Where? How? When What?

19. What do they ask?  They want us to be present to their “unfolding”.  They want us to be joyful witnesses to our own lives.  They want openness, honesty, dialogue.  They want adult mentors.  They want basic catechesis.  They want to claim an authentic belief system.  They want social justice  They want authentic faith encounters.

20. The voices of teens “Many of us see our teachers more than we see our parents. I think that teachers need to realize that they are a part of our lives as much as they are. Yes, our parents are important, but teachers are also because we see them so much. -9th grade girl

21. The voices of teens “Maybe we are more cynical. But I think this generation is also a lot smarter. We will accomplish a lot. We’re going to surprise a lot of people.” 12th grade girl “We’re a lot better than they think we are.” 11th grade boy

22. Questions for Catholic educators: b How will we connect with young people? b How will we witness to our (and their) ideals? b How will we “ground them” in faith and religion? Is faith enough? b How will we give them hope and optimism? b How can we fuse culture and faith? b How will we inspire them?

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24. Secondary needs b Gregariousness b Aggression b Affiliation b Inquisitiveness b Power b Achievement b Status

25. Gregariousness b Social beings b Need to belong: Homeroom may be homeHomeroom may be home Need to know teacher loves themNeed to know teacher loves them Need to be part of the teamNeed to be part of the team Have the “second family”Have the “second family”

26. The voices of teens “More than anything, our youth culture responds to positive feedback from the media and adults. Often the only feedback we’re getting is negative. I have many friends who feel like they’re taken for granted, because the troublemakers get all the attention. The people who are doing what they should be doing are overlooked.” - 12th grade girl

27. Aggression b The need to assert, carve out territory, have “turf”. b Allow opinions to be expressed b Involve them in problem solving b Let them “own territory” b Acknowledge their presence & uniqueness

28. Affiliation b Need to associate b Boys/girls and relationships b Friendships, sense of loyalty b School spirit b Belonging/gangs

29. Inquisitiveness: the need to know b Relation of learning to life b “senioritis” b Curiosity

30. The voices of teens “ You are who you hang around with. Before, parents made you who you are. Now, teens are pretty much defined by their friends. I see my mom maybe an hour a day and not at all on weekends.” -11th grade girl

31. Power: the need for identity b Decision-making b Graffiti, Dare-devil antics, gangs b Being seen b Making a name for oneself

32. The voices of teens “it’s cool to see your name on the broadcast monitor in the cafeteria or in the local paper because you scored the winning basket. No one is going to get on the PA and say ‘Susie got an A in Spanish.’” -11th grade boy

33. Achievement b Need for recognition for something specific b Motivation: boys vs. girls b Creation of Rites of Passage

34. The voices of teens “It seems that often the adults in our society are quick to blame the teenagers and tell us to take responsibility for our individual actions. Our problems have a lot to do with the role models in our society. If we’re not being praised or perceived as doing the right things, then we’re going to turn to other forms of attention.” -12th grade girl

35. Status b The need to be somebody b Demonstrate students’ power over their status b Value all kinds of talent b Notice them outside the classroom

36. The voices of teens “We have a problem here; a certain percentage of the students do everything in the school. A certain percentage are in the higher classes; they also play sports, they’re in clubs and they are also the leaders in our school. I think the rest of the kids feel alienated. -12th grade girl

38. The voices of teens “My worry, academics-wise, is ‘am I understanding this?’ Just because you can get an A in every class doesn’t mean that you’ve learned anything. If you don’t learn anything, that’s just a waste of time for you and the teacher.” 10th grade boy

39. The voices of teens “When I’m with my friends, I don’t have to be good at anything. I just have to BE and my friends will accept me. “-sophomore boy