we linked to this in the ys update email this week (youth workers, do you get that? it’s a sweet e-newsletter, comes out each wednesday; full of helpful links and other bits and baubles. worth signing up for, here.). but for those who may have missed this, here’s an excellent overview article on teenage brain development and what researchers are learning.
i’m passionate about this subject these days, because i believe there are HUGE implications for adolescent spiritual development, how we teach, what we measure and expect, and all kinds of other stuff. i expect to be blogging about this quite a bit more in late may, as we have an adolescent brain specialist coming as our special guest at our jh pastors summit next month.
a tease from the article:
In recent years, researchers have finally been able to get real insight into the workings of the brain thanks to magnetic resonance imaging (mri), using the technology to map blood flow to the areas of the brain that are activated by exposure to various stimuli. By scanning the same group of adolescents over a period of years or by comparing the brain responses of teenagers to those of adults, researchers are putting together a portrait of adolescence that confirms what many parents have always suspected: adolescents might as well be a whole different species. They are, as one neuroscientist puts it, a “work-in-progress.”
“CAUTION”, “WORKERS AHEAD” “CONSTRUCTION AREA” “DANGER”, What other ways do we need to describe this section in the highway of life that is so unpredictable, can be so detrimental to the outcome of one’s future.
A work in progress indeed, and only compounded, by the massive doses of media, media, media.Watch out! “Brain Out of Order”.
This is one of the hot new topics for youth ministry, though there’s gonna’ be a steep learning curve at points. I think you’ll see more of this topic in future youth ministry discussions and publications. This area is the focus of this year’s Association of Youth Ministry Educators conference (http://www.aymeduators.org) in San Jose, CA. Amy Jacober is the confernce director this year and has been able to get Dr. Fraser Mustard (cool name, eh?) to be the keynote speaker. This is stunning that he’s willing to do this for a small youth ministry conference. He’s one of the world’s foremost experts in this field and is fascinated by what youth ministry folks are doing on behalf of adolescents. You’re right in that there are huge implications for our thinking about youth ministry and will challenge us at various points along the way.
TL