From my friend David Murray, author of Christians Get Depressed Too: … [Read more...] about Hope and Help for Depressed Teens
The New “Son of God” Movie
Here's the trailer: Should we go see it? … [Read more...] about The New “Son of God” Movie
Interview by Matt Mitchell on Preparing Your Teens for College
Matt: Who should read this book and why? Obviously, it's written specifically for parents. What kind of parents did you have in mind? What if we don't think our teens will attend college? Should we still read it? Should our teens read it, too? What makes it different from other books out there about preparing for college? Alex: I wrote this book for all kinds of parents—those whose children have near-perfect SAT (or ACT) scores and those who don’t know the SAT or ACT from ABC, NBC, and CBS. The truth is that all our teens face tremendous challenges when it comes to entering adulthood. … [Read more...] about Interview by Matt Mitchell on Preparing Your Teens for College
Helping Teens Rebut Relativism
Good time this morning on the Bob Dutko show. Great question from Bob on how to train teens to not buy into spiritual relativism. I think one of the big fears that makes church-raised teens fall for this is the fear of being considered a bigot (intolerant, narrow-minded, arrogant). In fact, it's more humble to come under the authority of what God has revealed. And believing in exclusive, objective truth doesn't make you intolerant--you can (and should) treat with respect and kindness those with other beliefs. But merely thinking others are wrong doesn't make you intolerant or arrogant. … [Read more...] about Helping Teens Rebut Relativism
Leadership Journal Interview on Preparing Your Teens for College
In an interview for Christianity Today's Leadership Journal, Daniel Darling (VP of Communications, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission) asked me these questions: 1) When we think of "preparing our kids for college" we often think through the actual academic preparation. But do parents think through the spiritual preparation? 2) Seems the church does a good job telling teens about following Christ, but not so well in helping them flesh out what that calling might look like. How can we be better at this? 3) In your experience, what do incoming freshmen seem to lack the most? 4) … [Read more...] about Leadership Journal Interview on Preparing Your Teens for College
Is Your Child Prepared to Major in a STEM Field?
Fascinating post by Lynn O'Shaughnessy on the popularity of STEM majors and the importance of preparation for success in them. The 2013 report she cites notes the need for students to "understand what takes place in a specific major or occupation." When they do, the report shows, their ACT scores rise, which implies better preparation for the rigors of college and a greater likelihood of success in a family of majors with a higher than average attrition rate. Like I explained in Chapter 9 of Preparing Your Teens for College, we need to help more HS students understand what's required for … [Read more...] about Is Your Child Prepared to Major in a STEM Field?