Parenting the Guardian Class: Validating Spirited Youth, Ending Adolescence, and Renewing America's GreatnessAuthorHouse, 2008 - 332 pages If you have ever wished teens weren't so rebellious, you won't after reading this book. It is an explanation of spirited youth and the heroic roles they struggle to have in society. Rebelliousness is a part of this struggle, an inborn drive to demonstrate high self-worth that opposes families, schools, and communities that restrict them to roles that offer no means of being special, daring, and invincible. Notions about adolescence create such restrictions. The book counters them with findings and perspectives from human and social science, philosophy, myth, and cultural history to show that spirited youth: innately struggle to realize potentials of their awakening spiritual intelligence. aren't adequately supported by modern forms of parenting, family, and community. respond well to authoritative validation and properly resist authoritarian control. lose optimism about what they can become when forced to be obedient and dependent. will become a Guardian Class that defends and creates good in communities when they are consistently validated. A validating approach to parenting that extends beyond one or two adults in a nuclear family is presented. Guidelines are offered on how it can support youth spiritual development, which is manifested by behavior that departs from established norms, encounters trials and tests, and confronts adversaries and dangers. This pattern of behavior produces positive change when adults nurture, affirm, and engage what is actually underway: 1) struggling for freedoms, possibilities, and opportunities; 2) aspiring to be special, daring, and invincible; 3) seeking to change things through defiance, challenge, and aggression; and 4) discovering the calling, purpose, and vision for one's life. |
Contents
Chapter | 17 |
Chapter | 23 |
PART | 29 |
Chapter Four | 47 |
Chapter Five | 61 |
Chapter | 73 |
PART THREE | 79 |
Chapter Eight | 97 |
Chapter Eleven | 153 |
Chapter Twelve | 173 |
Chapter Thirteen | 197 |
Chapter Fourteen | 213 |
Chapter Fifteen | 239 |
Chapter Sixteen | 259 |
Epilogue | 289 |
End Notes | 301 |
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Common terms and phrases
action adolescence adulthood adults aggressive Alvin Toffler American ancient archetype aspect aspirations autonomy become behavior Books called cause challenge child children and youth create culture daimon delinquency desire engaged Erik Erikson evolve expected feel Francis Fukuyama futant God gene Guardian Class hero myth hero pattern hero system heroic heroism higher highly human evolution idealized version identity individual Industrial Revolution initiative and industry innate inner experiences inner voices intelligence interaction involves James Hillman Joseph Chilton Pearce Joseph Pearce juvenile juvenile delinquency kids kind lives means moral Mother nature noble self-view nuclear family nurture one's parents person possessed possible powerful problem rebellious recognition recognized ritual of passage Roberto Assagioli self-worth sense shame social society society's solidarity soul soul's hero journey special and select spirited youth spiritedness spiritual development story strivings struggle symbols teen thing trouble validation vision worth York youth development