2018 Beach Retreat Leader Manual

UNDERSTANDING THE JHIGH STUDENT
JHigh students, typically 11-13 years old, are students in
transition. Students in sixth grade give the appearance of
childhood. But by the time a student is ready to leave eight
grade, he or she is much more like an adult than like a child.
While the changes that take place in JHigh are a natural part
of life, they can be troubling, nonetheless.
PHYSICAL CHANGES
At some time in the course of JHigh, most students will
enter adolescence. Their bodies begin to change and
grow, and this growth is not always easy for students to
adjust to. JHigh students can be clumsy and awkward.
They are often embarrassed about their bodies and the
pace of their growth. Consequently, it is during JHigh that
most students begin to notice the opposite sex. Again, this
provides opportunities for embarrassment and insecurity.
Considering this, it is essential that Beach Retreat Leaders
are encouraging to students. It is highly painful to a student
when an adult makes a careless joke about a student’s
appearance. Christian leaders should take every opportunity
to build up the fragile self-image of students.
SOCIAL CHANGES
When a student enters the sixth grade, their primary social
connection is to their mother and father. Students derive much
of their self-identity from their family relationships. However,
during the JHigh years, students begin to place more and
more value in their peer relationships. They desire to know the
right friends in the right crowd. Much of their self-esteem is
based upon who is in their peer group. That’s why guys will
be so critical of one another. They are establishing a pecking
order. They attempt to build up their own images by tearing
down the images of others. Similarly, girls will often bicker with
each other and talk maliciously behind one another’s backs.
Again, they are trying to find their places in the peer group.
Although some JHigh students appear to have little regard for
their parents anymore, they still desire a strong relationship
with their parents and want to spend time with their moms
and dads. A good Beach Retreat Leader—realizing the
importance of friendship—will try to help new students make
friends with other students without making the new student
feel like a goober! In other words, a leader should be subtle
about it. For example, it isn’t really cool to walk up to a group
of students and say, “Hey, gang, this is Billy and he doesn’t
have any friends. Will you play with him?” That approach
isn’t helpful at all. However, it is important to be sensitive to
new students. Try to involve them in conversations with other
students. Try to introduce new students to one another and
help them “get the ball rolling” in a conversation.
INTELLECTUAL CHANGES
As students leave sixth grade, they have nearly mastered the
ability to absorb and understand concrete items. Yet they are
not able to grasp abstract information very well. It is during
the JHigh years that students’ minds begin to develop the
ability to deal with abstract ideas. Yet this ability is new. So it
is helpful that Bible studies and discussions focus on “real life”
issues, instead of abstract, foreign ideas.
EMOTIONAL CHANGES
JHigh students may seem to overreact to certain situations
and sometimes appear melodramatic. It is at the onset of
puberty that emotions begin to burst forth with extremes.
Adults often forget the powerful emotions that occur during
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