Children and teenagers get their beliefs about justice from their family. Prejudice, cruelty, intolerance and bigotry are all learned. None of us come out of the womb thinking negatively about a particular group of people. You teach your children and your teen about justice every time you watch the news.
We teach teens to have certain positions and opinions on a variety of issues by not talking about them. Frequently this is the silent conversation. Teens watch and listen. We talk with our attitude and behaviors, unaware that we are in a conversation. Most of the important issues in our world aren’t simple. Taking a position on an issue or event should take work. It means listening and thinking about different opinions and perspectives. It means understanding that people can hold totally opposite positions on something and still be good, decent people. It means being able to hear and think and discuss.
If you have no conversations with your teen, but just let them listen to you when you react to the world around you, you have given them a point of view, but you have not given them the tools they will need to make decisions about other issues they may face in the future. The conversation you have with them, the process of thinking through various issues – these are the ways you teach skills, not just opinions. That is the only way to talk about justice.
