Michelle Stewart

Principal Willowcreek Middle School

Infants begin life concerned only with their own needs. They do not care that you are busy with something else when a wet diaper calls or a hunger pang hits. As they grow, children begin to react to the world around them and they start to see things from other perspectives. Toddlers begin to share blocks. Young school age children begin to make friendships. Middle schoolers worry about friends and struggle with peer pressure.

Each human being develops at their own pace. The trick is for the adults who care for them to value each stage they enter into, and to help them as they transition to the next stage. When adults are trying to teach young people to make good decisions, it is essential that we help them to see beyond the immediacy of the situation and look to the logical set of outcomes that could result.

I believe that if our youth are taught to consider the following three questions when faced with any decision, they will begin to move along in their journey to be responsible adults. As with any skill, it takes practice for something to move to an automatic level; take the time to role-play with your child and suggest various scenarios using these questions. Use "dead time" in the car, standing in the checkout lane or waiting for a movie to start to have conversations based on these questions.

1. How does this decision affect my family? Helping a child focus in on their ties to the family is important for the development of self. If a child sees themselves as an extension of the family, they will make healthier choices because they are appropriately concerned with how their family will be affected by what they do.

2. How does this decision help me to better my life? This question helps a young person look at how a current situation affects their long-term life. Most students need assistance in seeing how studying today will help them get the job they want later or how deciding to begin smoking will affect their ability to stay healthy later in life.

3. How does this decision help my community? The late John Kennedy said it best, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Children need to be taught that they have an obligation to their community. Beginning early, a child can be taught to be responsible for some communal area of the home. It is important that they contribute to their family according to their abilities. Later, as a child matures, their community broadens. Now adults must help them focus on making their schools, cities and towns better through volunteerism, and personal responsibility. As they continue to mature, this attitude helps grow a civic-minded individual who works to make this country a better place for all.

Together parents, schools, community organizations and places of worship can help guide our next generation to achieve their full potential.

Michelle Stewart

Principal Willowcreek Middle School