‘Safe Surf’ Increases Awareness of Internet Dangers
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.â€
In the good old days, this well-known childhood saying was usually a good enough defense against the meanest bully at recess, then again, so was “nah, nah ,nah, boo, boo†and sticking out your tongue and wiggling your fingers in the air before running for cover.
In today’s modern computer era where kids spend more time on the Internet than they do on the school playground, words actually can hurt worse than sticks and stones. In some cases, words even can kill. Continue reading
Text Messaging: Teen’s Foreign Language Baffles Parents
Kids seem to speak their own language. They always have; they always will. After all, young people sort of share the same tongue, and some of them pierce their tongues as well, but that’s another fad.
Sari calls her girlfriend at school “BFFâ€, (Best Friends Forever), and Jack constantly tells me, “TMIâ€, (Too Much Information), whenever I have to explain any kind of bodily function. Even the overused, full-of-attitude word, Whatever, is shortened to just “WE.â€
The latest style of “QSO†(Conversation) seems innocent enough, but these abbreviations are actually derived from an even more bizarre communication called text messaging. This text-based lingo twists the alphabet into secret codes that encourage “KPC,†(Keeping Parents Clueless) and causes lots of “CSG,†(Chuckle, Snicker, Grin) toward anyone who doesn’t get it. Continue reading
Bnei Mitzvah Students Thrive on Jewish Connection
Like I was saying…At no greater time in a child’s life is a Jewish connection more important than adolescence. So why are so many teens tempted to abandon the tribe after they’ve worked so hard on their bnei mitzvahs? I mean, if I remember correctly, the teenage years are tough enough without having a peer group to identify with. Yet for some reason, after the thank-you notes are written and the gift cards are spent, many young Jewish adults blend back into the melting pot of society and lose their Jewish selves. Continue reading
Meaningful Mitzvahs Are A Big Hit With Teens
Mitzvah projects are as unique as the Hebrew school students themselves, and it’s hard to say who benefits the most, the giver or the receiver. With a keen awareness of social justice and diverse skills and interests, today’s young Jewish people are eager to choose a tzedakah project that goes beyond collecting money for a charity. Sure, they can donate a percentage of their monetary gifts to many worthwhile causes, such as Mazon, which fights hunger worldwide, but they also are eager to give their time, talents, and energy to help those in need. Continue reading
B’nei Mitzvahs Give New Meaning To Tzedekah
Who says kids today are lazy and self centered? Uhh, maybe I did, but never mind. Ask any typical hormonal, pimply pre-teen preparing for a bar or bat mitzvah and he or she will show you the contrary. Consider, for example, the relentless demands on Jewish 13-year-olds who are about to embark on symbolic adulthood. To start with, they diligently practice their Torah portion; study their Haftarah; write a personal interpretation of the weekly Torah portion, called the D’var Torah; and put up with their mothers who obsess for a whole year over everything from the guest list to the dessert table. Continue reading