Olson's JH Blog

Every JH (and HS) kid needs to watch this.

Gratitude...responsibility...humility...platform.

Enjoy.

Yesterday in JH chapel we took a look at practical do's and don'ts for teens and technology these days. With the advent of multiple-function devices, which operate on an anywhere, anytime platform, parents and kids have to learn entirely new (in some cases) paradigms in terms of their usage patterns. More importantly, a philophical framework has to be reviewed and specifically taught to kids, as they do not know life without 24/7 digital technology at their fingertips (or their friend's

So your kid asks you a difficult personal question about your childhood: what do you say?

Do you worry about exposing yourself in an uncomfortable way?

What if your kid takes license with your example and says (or feels) "well, you turned out okay, so it can't be that bad, right?"

What if this one question turns into 20 more?

There are obviously different shades to this issue, but bottom line, answer their question if you can. Kids are looking for adults who are real, and transparency is a

I've seen most episodes of the show Friends, which ran for nine seasons on NBC, eventually taking over the vaunted 9PM slot from Seinfeld on Thursday nights. Content-wise, it was a mess, though, like so many shows, it was incredibly clever and witty. While most of the content-mess centered around sexuality, it also created another legacy, that of funny sarcasm. While I don't lay our current culture's problem with sarcasm squarely at the feet of a show like Friends, it certainly perpetuated the

Here's a helpful (and quick) article dealing with our sleep patterns and electronics. The ubiquity of our gadgets and screens keeps us in-the-know, but it also jacks-up our ability to get a good night's sleep. The content in this article is practical and helpful for everyone--kids and parents alike. As adults, it's easy to focus content like this on our kids, but before we say anything to them, we must first reflect on our own practices. As the old saying goes, "values are caught more than

Hi folks,

I found this article over the weekend which you might find helpful. It deals with talking with your kids about potentially tough subjects like appropriate uses of Twitter, mobile communication, and suicide. Sometimes it's hard to know where to begin on tough subjects, especially with JH-aged kids and their often-times raw ability to navigate deeper material.

For what it's worth...

Mike

Hi everyone,

It's report card time, which, depending on how the grades turned out, is either a time of prayer and intercession, or rejoicing and ice cream. Perhaps if their grades are in-between, rejoice, but do so by getting them some some sugar-free ice cream and telling that they are on the right track...but can do better. If they pull them up appropriately, take them to Cold Stone and go nuts!

This post is really aimed at 7th grade parents, as you are about to receive your kiddo's first JH

I love Junior High.

Honestly.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to teach JH-aged students. Please enjoy the following clip...

This is my 18th year at BCS, but my first as a BCS parent. My daughter is in 7th grade, and we're going through many of the typical parental ups-and-downs associated with life at this stage.

If you've said or thought any of the following things, you are definitely a JH parent:

"Demon...come out!"

"Who are you, and what have you done with my child!?!"

"Who raised

This is one of those "if the shoe fits, wear it" posts...

If you have a kiddo that rides their bike to school, we love that.

We also love it when they don't almost get hit by cars and run into people while riding on campus.

Therefore, we are asking kids to walk their bikes to the bike rack (coming) and road (leaving) so as to avoid the aforementioned catastrophes. Teens tend to whip around on their bikes without too much thought as to who else might be standing/walking/driving right around the

So we're at Camp Gilead last week for the JH retreat, when I had a conversation that beautifully shows the mind of a JH student. I just had to share it with you, particularly if you are a first-time JH parent.

The Setting: Free time, where kids are skateboarding, swimming, canoeing, playing volleyball and basketball, and generally hanging out. I am sitting on a hillside, just chatting with some students, when a student walks by, in his jeans, soaking wet from head-to-toe (obviously been in the

Tomorrow, the JH heads over to Camp Gilead, a Christian camp site headed up by BCS parents Jack and Sara Moyer. Taking a day to bond has been a JH tradition from before I was around, and I thought I'd throw a couple of thoughts regarding our purpose for taking the trip. The event is about worship, connecting, relaxation and fun, in that order. It is usually a highlight of the JH year, and tomorrow should be no exception.

Worship means to do everything to the glory of God and good of others. We

(Author's Note: I wrote this in late June during Jury Duty service in anticipation of the beginning of the JH school year.)

I'm on jury duty right now. To be factual, I'm on "break" from my "service" at the moment. I am using the quotation marks because I have done exactly nothing all day. Those of you who have served on jury duty know exactly what I'm talking about. My case (should I be chosen) is complicated, and the attorneys are pouring over our responses to a three-page questionnaire.

Hey now...hope you had a good Thanksgiving break. Snow for Thanksgiving...in Seattle. Kinda fun actually...

I just came across this video as I was doing some research for one of my classes, and I thought it might provide some good food for thought regarding Smart Phones and younger teens. Many of you are battling this wave of tech glory in your homes right now, and this might offer some insights. I offer this in the "for what it's worth" category.

More news later...

Mike

Grades are a funny subject. Not funny ha-ha, but a continual challenge in terms of trying to figure out what they actually mean. I don't have all the answers by any means, but I humbly offer some thoughts here as we enter into the second quarter of the school year.

For a brief bit of Mike Olson history, I had a myriad of experiences with grades, from sheer misery to "perfection" as we understand it. In junior high, I hit the skids early in 7^th grade, "achieving" a GPA of 1.37 after the first

Ask JH boys what a man looks like, and inevitably Chuck Norris will come up. Heck, ask high school and college-aged fellas and they'll also bring up Norris. When I was in college, this guy was the man-of-the-moment, but Chuck is The Man right now.

Years ago I started a discipleship group for high school boys, primarily dealing with sexual purity issues. Over time, the group expanded in both size and scope. What started with six boys eventually swelled to (at times) over 40. Topically, we began

While my colleagues are up in the Great White North of Canada for the CSI convention, I am lying on my bed with my dog and laptop recovering from an old sports injury that rears its ugly head every so often (back injury). I've been quite productive during my recovery time (all day in bed Wednesday and Thursday, probably most of the day today), and thanks to my laptop I'm not too out-of-the-loop. It's also given me time to think about things, which is what brings me to my blog topic for this

I recently read an article in RELEVANT magazine that I'd like to throw your way. It deals with thoughts on social networking sites, specifically the current goliaths Facebook and Twitter (a moment of silence for MySpace...thank you, and may you rest in peace). I have read several articles of this ilk, but I found this one, written by Shane Hipps, to be particularly insightful. I'll throw some quotes at you in the "for what it's worth" category, as well as link you to the article itself. I