Good Morning, I'm still working 5 days a week as a substitute teacher and am encountering a large population of children that have been incarcerated and or in rehab. Any suggestions on books or online courses that could give me some insight. Thanks in advance for your ideas. Hope your day is full of good karma. Hille ------------------
Hille, Let me commend Boystown as a definitive resource of the material for which you seek. http://www.girlsandboystown.org/products/booksvideos/index.htm My wife and I have fostered children from the juvenile justice system and have benefited greatly from these resources. Happy hunting! Steven King
I am glad that the kids have a concerned person working with them. I work part time as a guidance counselor. Nationally 1 of 7 of our male teen youth are involved with corrections. Special Education programs which have courses in management of difficult behavior, emotional disabilities would be a place to start. Also a huge portion of risky youth behavior is tied into substance abuse. The 10 am jiggles often happen with youth addicted to nicotine. The earlier a youth uses a substance, the higher the rate of addiction. I found courses in management of problem behavior at several on-line and correspondence programs. The Missouri system had the best titles. I have taken on-line courses at Capella, but not in this field. Hopefully someone who has more direct experience will comment. Happy 5th day of Xmas
Thanks for the reply. I am thinking about Fort Hays for a graduate level program. I posted that advice to someone and may take it myself. Wishing you and all a peaceful new year. Hille ------------------
I can’t tell you which school to attend, but there are definitely special classes and/or degrees to address problem children. For two years, I worked as a school resource officer at our district’s ”reject school” which has a population of about 160 students. The children are sent to this special school for various reasons, to include: 1. They may be classified as ”emotionally handicapped” which is a medical disability. These students will ”go off” on you at a pin drop. 2. Students who pushed or hit their teachers in their mainstream school. 3. Students who constantly fought with other students (as instigators). 4. Students who brought weapons to school (knives or, at worst, a gun). While there were only 160 students, the entire school was a powder keg. It is the only school in our district that allows the staff members to physically restrain the students. They attend a special class that certifies them as being competent to use certain ”holds” that have been deemed safe for the children. The student to staff ratio is two staff members (one teacher and one aide) to five students in the classroom. Larger classes proved to be too volatile and, thus, the teacher could not teach, due to the ongoing disruptions and fights amongst the students. Many of the students are heavily medicated to the point where they appear to be zombies. When they are not medicated, they become volatile, argumentative or even hostile and, thus, they become a danger to others. When I first went to that school, I could hear screams all over the school. It sounded like a madhouse (which I guess it is). I averaged 70 arrests or medical apprehensions each school year for various things i.e. punching teachers, bringing knives to school, suicidal threats, distributing narcotics, ect. I really enjoyed the job because it was so rewarding. I really had a good relationship with most of the kids and was able to help many of them emotionally by being a powerful auditoria figure who lowered himself to a loving, accepting, communicating level that they could relate to. But at the same time, it was extremely demanding because there was always a crisis that was occurring. It was non-stop. Our teachers had to specialize in certain classes before they could be certified to teach these kinds of students.
After I left the school, many of the students fell back into their old habits i.e. became social misfits or outcasts; and got into trouble with the law (burglaries or drugs). Prior to my leaving the school, I found that my ability to “connect” with them allowed them to hold their heads up high e.g.. “there is someone out there who respects me and I mean something to someone.” We all just want to be loved and respected, right? Love and respect for a human is like sunshine to a plant: We can’t grow to our full potential without it and we become stunted in our intellectual, social and physical development. By offering them an “emotional connection,” many of them thrived and became calm and were better able to “fit in.” I am extremely saddened to see many of them implode back into unhealthy habits (since my departure). Again, I am very grateful for having been given the opportunity to work there and, thus, to help many of them (though my success rate seems so short term). Kudos to anyone who wants to become educationally certified to work with these kids.
