Vol 17, No 1 (2008)
Children weakly bonded to adults are dependent on peers for approval and may reinforce one another's problem behavior. Serious research on countering negative peer influence began a half-century ago as Ashley Weeks of New York University studied the Highfields project for delinquent youth. There is now clear evidence that, to reverse negative climates, adults and youth must form respectful alliances and work together to solve problems. This results in positive peer cultures where conflict is replaced by cooperation and helping. This issue explores the practice and research evidence base for building positive climates in schools and youth settings. Guest editor is Erik Laursen, UMFS, Richmond, Virginia.
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Drumming for Life
Simon Faulkner
Troubled children and youth who have limited cognitive skills may not respond well to traditional talk-based interventions. Australian Aboriginal youngsters are involved in drumming to foster belonging and communication skills.
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Altering the Future: Solutions to Problem Saturated Stories
Adam Munk, Damon Rappleyea
A key developmental task of adolescence is to learn to manage emotions in socially appropriate ways. Some traumatized youth have great difficulty responding to complex, confusing emotions and get bogged down in self-defeating cycles. This article describes an approach grounded in narrative therapy to help youth examine their problematic reactions in difficult situations and explore more adaptive solutions.
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Storying Their Lives II
Francis Kazemek, Jerry Wellick
This is the final of two articles describing how students at risk, teachers, and elders are using stories and other forms of written and oral expression to connect across generations. The goal of these activities is to foster belonging, creativity, competence, and self-expression.
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Heroism
Jim Natural
Youth referred by courts to a therapeutic wilderness camping program are enlisted in inspiring service projects including coaching handicapped children in sports and completing ecological reclamation projects. These youth, whose lives have been lived in the shadows of trouble, are able to step into the spotlight of positive recognition, having become real heroes to other children in need and to their community.
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It Starts With Us
Dana Jacob, Martin Mitchell, James Longhurst
Confronting a climate of violence in our schools and communities, we often try to solve new problems with old methods and mindsets. Successful approaches go beyond zero tolerance to transform the cultures of disrespect.
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Double Struggle: It's Not Just About You
Mary Shahbazian, Patricia Taglione
In working with young people, ones own reaction to the youth is as important as focusing on ones reaction to other adults in the system who are involved with the youth.
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Building Emotional Intelligence
Tina Livingston, Jennifer Connor, John Hoover
A review of Linda Lantieri's book, Building Emotional Intelligence
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The Historic Role of Residential Group Care
Michael Danjczek, Mary Malia, Richard Quigley, Gregg Dowty
Although various policy reviews at the state and federal levels have raised important questions about how to support children and families, residential programs continue to be critical to a continuum of care, achieving safety, well-being, and permanency goals with a strong focus on family reunification.
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Breaking the Trust Barrier
Nicholas Long
Dr. Nicholas Long has served for sixteen years as founding co-editor of this journal. The current issue marks his transition to a well-deserved retirement. In his new role as “editor emeritus,” we will ask him to continue sharing wisdom from a half century of experience in this field.
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Don't Let Me Give Up
Woodland Hills Youth
Residents at Woodland Hills in Duluth, Minnesota, were asked for their perspective on what constitutes respectful alliances between adults and youth. These youth have experienced many broken relationships and are in treatment to heal their emotional and behavioral problems. The staff at Woodland Hills guide, teach, and partner with young people to empower them to heal and take control of their lives.
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Respectful Alliances
Erik Laursen
Many traditional approaches to challenging youth only manage surface behavior or administer superficial interventions. Positive Peer Culture sets a goal of transforming the culture and climate of the school so that youth and adults work together in a respectful alliance. Seven core components in this process are outlined.
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Becoming Someone So Much Stronger
Megan Freado
A high school girl faces the most distressing news of her life.
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The Journal at 65
Larry Brendtro
With this publication, RECLAIMING Children and Youth marks its 65th quarterly issue. The journal was founded in 1992 by Nicholas J. Long and Larry K. Brendtro. The charter issue plunged into real-world problems with the theme, Gangs, Guns, and Kids. Over the next sixteen years, over a thousand articles from as many authors have explored all of the important issues in our field.
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