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Quote of the Week
"Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose." --Victor Frankl
7 Ways To Help Teens Find Purpose
"One thing nearly all teens agree on is that most of what high school teaches them is irrelevant to their lives outside of school or their future careers. One study found that the most common feelings among high school students are fatigue and boredom. Another study concluded that 65 percent of the jobs that today’s high school graduates will have in their lifetime do not even exist yet. But we are still teaching them in the same way that we trained industrial workers a century ago."
Mindfully finding one's unique life path is a journey filled with questions and challenges for both parents and teens. What if you could find the intersection of what you love to do, your unique gifts and a need you see in the world? Patrick Cook-Deegen, an education innovation fellow at the K-12 Lab at Stanford's d.school, explores a purpose-driven curriculum for high school and how to help teens find their way towards a meaningful life path. [read article]
Reading Corner
Title: The Path to Purpose: Helping our children find their calling in life
By: William Damon
Stages: Pre-teen/Adult
"In his latest book on the importance of moral development, William Damon, a professor of education at Stanford University and the director of the Stanford Center on Adolescence, argues that children today—far more than children in the past—are floundering for lack of direction. While society at large focuses on practical concerns like good grades and secure jobs, Damon argues that children want to know how to find true fulfillment. The Path to Purpose looks at how children are hampered in their search for meaning, and how concerned adults can help them find it."-- Dawn Friedman
Recommended by Kindful Kids Editors
Be The Change
Talk with a teen about how they can apply something they love to do to fill a need they see in the world and have them come up with a way they can incorporate this into their life.
Looking for an inspiring story to share with a teen? Read about 14-year-old Deepika Kurup! During her family visits to India, Deepika was disturbed by seeing so many children drinking dirty water. According to the World Health Organization, one-ninth of the global population lacks access to clean water. This unacceptable social injustice compelled Deepika to find a solution--she developed a solar-powered technology that uses silver and other materials to rapidly remove bacteria from water. [read more]
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