David W. Furst

The language of practitioners and researchers working with troubled children typically emphasizes deficiency rather than strength (Cambone, 1995), with the result that programs designed to help meet at-risk children's needs are steeped in that negative world-view. The same tends to be the case in educational settings, where programs too frequently are based on systems of coercion, attitudes of deficiency, and stigmatization, rather than on support for students with emotional and behavioral problems. The emphasis is on "what's wrong," rather than "what 's right" with kids. This article describes a comprehensive alternative to the "what 's wrong" model of education for troubled students. The Boys Town Education Model currently is being used by several thousand educators in both regular and special education settings.