Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens
This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens.
Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens
Let’s celebrate our just-average teens!
There is joy when we appreciate the fact that our teens are exactly who they’re supposed to be, exactly the teens that God created them to be.
Featured in this article:
- A farming analogy
- Can you catch the metaphor that’s coming?
- Here’s the point about parenting just-average teens
- Average teens may do average-level academics
- Help teens learn not to criticize themselves
- More about homeschooling average teens
A farming analogy
Vicki is from Florida. She married into a backwoods Florida farming family. Her mother-in-law was from a farming family that had been on the land for generations. On the family farm, some areas had rich soil, some had sandy soil, and some were a little damp down near the creek.
Her mother-in-law’s father had to know which crops would grow best in which soils. A wise farmer paid attention. Up near the farmhouse, there may have been some beautiful corn growing. You could watch it grow and get bigger and bigger from the farmhouse steps.
Further out towards the back 40 acres, there may have been things like mustard greens, okra, or potatoes that would grow best in the soil there.
The corn up near the house was more visible. However, it didn’t mean it was the most important crop. Each crop was important. Each was growing the way it grew best.
Can you catch the metaphor that’s coming?
We have some teens in our families or in our community who were born to be more visible. Perhaps they look like the ones that are the best at something, or they are outstanding at something, or they are award-winning at something.
Then we have teens that are like a lot of our teens: they are average at something.
In fact, most of our teens are average at most things.
If you ever had to take statistics in college, you may remember the bell-shaped curve of populations. For instance, perhaps you obtain a large population of almost anything: humans, cats, or trees. When you measure the way that population is behaving, you will end up with a graph that looks like a bell.
The largest numbers of that population are under the top of the bell. That means that most of the population is there. That is a simple explanation of the word “average”.
Average teens are going to live what looks like an “average life”. This is good!
Here’s the point:
God makes each of our teens exactly who they should be: an average person doing normal things in life. As long as they learn to fulfill who God made them to be and stay faithful to what God called them to do, living an “average life” is a good and beautiful thing!
So, if God called them to learn to be a family person, invest in that family, and pay the bills by being a plumber or a mechanic, but they don’t make the big, big bucks, that’s not wrong. It’s the right thing for them.
It is the right thing: doing anything that glorifies God as an average person. It is good when teens learn to make life good and glorify God in their faithfulness to what God has called them to do.
Average teens may do average-level academics
Our average teens may not love math or their literature classes, but they are doing them. They don’t need to do honors-level work; instead, they can learn through an average-level curriculum.
Then they can spend more time on real-life preparation that will help them faithfully do what God made them to be.
So, if you have just-average teens, you can help them to understand that the important thing in life is to understand themselves, who God made them to be, and to fulfill that with joy and faithfulness.
You can make sure that your teens are concentrating on:
- Life preparation
- Character development
- Faith development (take a look at our free Apologetics curriculum)
- Lots of different experiences
- Career Exploration
- Apprenticeships
- Field trips
Help teens learn not to criticize themselves
In her years as a licensed professional counselor, Vicki has often heard teens criticize themselves because they think they are not good at anything. But yes, they are. They are good at what God made them to be good at.
If we can help teens to relax and explore, have experiences, and just be faithful to the little things they know, whether that’s making their bed, “Okay, I’m faithful to that,”
or,
“I’m learning how to write this code on the computer,” they will be building who they will grow up to be.
They should not be criticizing themselves but recognizing that God made them to be who they are, and that is the right thing.
Our average teens are not ever less than. They are who they are supposed to be. It is not their job to be famous; it’s to be faithful.
And as homeschool moms, we need to remember that as well. Our success is not bragging about a kid who got a full-ride scholarship to college. What makes us a successful mom is doing what God gave us to do.
On the hard days and the glorious days, our job is to help our teens develop self-awareness, character, and academic preparation that’s right for them. So that when they graduate, we’ve done what we can.
You can do this!
More about homeschooling average teens
- How to Enjoy Being a Mom of a Just Average Teen
- How to Create Average Level World History and Philosophy
- Help! I Have an Average High Schooler
- Planning High School Courses for Average Teens
Stay in touch
- If you want some encouragement, please join the 7SistersHomeschool Facebook group.
- We are on the other socials too: Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest.
- Also, check out 7SistersHomeschool, the website. We have lots of curriculum you can level to different needs and interests.
Thank you to Seth Tillman for editing!
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The post Celebrating Our Just-Average Teens appeared first on Ultimate Homeschool Podcast Network.
