b'WELCOME QUESTIONINGAlthough young adolescents are influenced by the thoughts and beliefs of peers, family, and community, they still have a strong need to belong. They are also developing critical thinking and communication skills and are likely beginning to move away from religious imagery, beliefs, and practices of childhood. This can create a desire to explore faith through questioning, challenging, and expressing doubts or disagreements. It is essential that we create an environment where questions are welcomed and encouraged. Helping middle schoolers explore their questions and express their thoughts is one of the greatest gifts we can offer, as this process can ultimately lead to owned faith.BE PRESENTOne of the spiritual characteristics of middle schoolers is that they commonly seek adult role models who live faith authentically. Young adolescents are looking for examples of what it really means to live faith and how that affects a persons decisions and actions. Simply put, they are watching everything we do and say, often evaluating faith in terms of the impact they see it having on our lives. Many people can name a specific person as one of the key reasons they chose to practice their faith. The importance of this cannot be underestimated. In fact, our role as a model of faith might be one the most important elements in helping faith come to life for middle schoolers.Our attention to and care for the individuals who make up our learning environments is a core part of our role as Catholic educators. By truly understanding those who are in front of us, providing engaging lessons with meaningful content, allowing and encouraging the exploration of honest questions, and being the best role model of faith in action we can be, we will nurture faith and help it to come to life for middle schoolers.Subscribe today! smp.org/inspire 53'