Religion and Spirituality
http://usreligion.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
As adolescents develop they gain a higher awareness of themselves. They start to understand actions as right and wrong, but they also begin giving meaning and reasons for why an action is right or wrong. This is due to moral development. This is the development of morals, values, and ethical judgments. Moral development may also help some adolescents find identity and a purpose in life. Many attribute this development to how an adolescent is raised. Many adolescents are raised in homes where a religion is present.
Religion is set of beliefs and practices that help a person feel connected to some sort of higher power. With the practice of many religions comes a moral code or moral law. When adolescence feel a connection to a certain religion or higher power they often try to follow that moral code. For example in the Catholic Church it is seen as unlawful for a man and woman to have sex before marriage. If an adolescent feels like a member of the Catholic Church they may abstain from sexual activities until marriage because that is morally correct in their belief system.
Another way for adolescence to feel a moral obligation is for them to experience some sort of spirituality. Spirituality is when an individual understand and feels something beyond themself. This feeling gives them a push to live in a way that benefits others around them.
In recent years, however, there has been a decline in adolescents who actually partake in religious activities, or affiliate with religious organizations. (Pryor,2010).
Click Here for sources.
Religion is set of beliefs and practices that help a person feel connected to some sort of higher power. With the practice of many religions comes a moral code or moral law. When adolescence feel a connection to a certain religion or higher power they often try to follow that moral code. For example in the Catholic Church it is seen as unlawful for a man and woman to have sex before marriage. If an adolescent feels like a member of the Catholic Church they may abstain from sexual activities until marriage because that is morally correct in their belief system.
Another way for adolescence to feel a moral obligation is for them to experience some sort of spirituality. Spirituality is when an individual understand and feels something beyond themself. This feeling gives them a push to live in a way that benefits others around them.
In recent years, however, there has been a decline in adolescents who actually partake in religious activities, or affiliate with religious organizations. (Pryor,2010).
Click Here for sources.
Concept Applied in The Classroom
http://www.umphrey.org/392/bad-stories-i-own-myself/
As a middle school teacher it is important to remember the values and morals of the students. As these are developing cognitively it is important that a teacher challenges students beliefs. This does not only give students a chance to see what life is like outside out their small community, but it also allows students to stand up for what they believe in, whatever that may be.
When testing to see how morally developed students are many government teachers will set up debates in the classroom. Another way to teach this is for a teacher to simply state an argument and see where the class takes it. This way the entire class will have to cooperate in order to defeat the teacher’s obvious wrong answer. Example: a history teacher might state, “The world is flat.” By saying this teacher is challenging every student’s previous education. After saying this teacher might then prompt the students to try to prove her wrong. Challenging the students to do this makes them think for themselves and also as a group. (2.3)
A teacher who is teaching in a public middle school will probably be working with students of all kinds of religious and spiritual backgrounds. In order to apply classroom lessons to all the different religions that may be present the teacher may develop lessons that teach students about the wide range of religions around the world. She may spend a day on each major religion allowing for students who partake in that religion to explain their religion’s belief system. This kind of exercise teaches students tolerance. It also allows the teacher to reach the maximum number of diverse backgrounds that the students in her class might have. (1.4) At the end of the religion unit the teacher may allow students to bring in food or clothing or symbols that are important to their religion. As a class they could celebrate religions around the world. (5.1)
When testing to see how morally developed students are many government teachers will set up debates in the classroom. Another way to teach this is for a teacher to simply state an argument and see where the class takes it. This way the entire class will have to cooperate in order to defeat the teacher’s obvious wrong answer. Example: a history teacher might state, “The world is flat.” By saying this teacher is challenging every student’s previous education. After saying this teacher might then prompt the students to try to prove her wrong. Challenging the students to do this makes them think for themselves and also as a group. (2.3)
A teacher who is teaching in a public middle school will probably be working with students of all kinds of religious and spiritual backgrounds. In order to apply classroom lessons to all the different religions that may be present the teacher may develop lessons that teach students about the wide range of religions around the world. She may spend a day on each major religion allowing for students who partake in that religion to explain their religion’s belief system. This kind of exercise teaches students tolerance. It also allows the teacher to reach the maximum number of diverse backgrounds that the students in her class might have. (1.4) At the end of the religion unit the teacher may allow students to bring in food or clothing or symbols that are important to their religion. As a class they could celebrate religions around the world. (5.1)