Pathway to Purpose - Date Night with Your Teen

“One of the most notable demographic trends of the last two decades has been the delayed entry of young people into adulthood . . . Today’s 25-year-olds, compared with their parents’ generation at the same age, are twice as likely to still be students, only half as likely to be married and 50 percent more likely to be receiving financial assistance from their parents”, according to Laurence Steinberg, a professor of psychology at Temple University in a recent New York Times article.

Yikes! This is probably why the book Do Hard Things is a national best seller. We know we need to put expectations back into the language we use with our kids.

One of the benefits I hear often from parents is that CLEPing helped their student develop a sense of purpose to their academics in their high school years. In turn, this transitioned over to students being more intentional about their activities and goals for their future. Given the right preparation and encouragement, students have a lot more to offer than we expect from them.

At a recent breakfast with a friend, he asked for ideas on how to engage his 13 year old granddaughter to stretch herself. He can see her potential, but she is more comfortable being part of the herd. For many students, they only seem themselves as just that – students. They don’t remember a day they weren’t one and they can’t imagine a day when they will no longer be one.

William Damon is one of my favorite authors who is talks honestly about the academic treadmill we put our students on - toward an emptiness of artificial academic achievement. High school graduates are often set adrift lacking a sense of purpose. Something will fill that void. We want to be intentional about pointing them to find purpose in their lives. I highly recommend his book The Path to Purpose: How Young People Find Their Calling in Life. In an article for the Palo Alto Weekly he writes:   Continue Reading . . .

• Details and Registration: REACH Homeschool
• Time: 9 am – 4 pm  |  Cost: $5 per family (includes lunch!)

• Hosted by The Plymouth/Wayzata Homeschool Group
• Location: Messiah United Methodist Church | 17805 County Road 6, Plymouth, MN 55447
• Time: 7:00 – 8:30 pm
• Guests are welcome. A $3 donation to PWHG is requested (pre-registration not required). Seminar Handout – print and bring with you.

• CLEP Classes offered by CLEP-Tutor Laura Luna will now be offered in Coon Rapids, MN on The Virtues Campus, Thursdays starting in January. You might remember from my last newsletter that I began working as Program Director for The Virtues Campus - a new non-profit venturing to offer affordable college education on local church campuses.

• A Bible Course for teens will also be offered Thursdays on The Virtues Campus. Details are posted on VirtuesCampus.com. If you have questions, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

• CLEP Updated Retest Policy: As of Oct. 17, 2014, the CLEP retest policy will be changed to allow test-takers to retest three months after the last exam administration, as opposed to six months.

• FREE online self-paced course for Microsoft Office Courses for Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. Students can finish the tutorials in a just a few days, or just watch one lesson a week - Microsoft Mondays!

• Order Today! World Religions Course Guide (one semester) for grades 7-12.