[MD] The MoQ.org STRANGLES Creativity

[Heather Perella]

Platt,

     Platt asked:  "Can you trace many juvenile
problems to families or
> the lack thereof?"

     This is a difficult question to precisely answer.
 I am staff, and the supervisors have more interaction
with parents than I do.  Yet, I have met some parents,
and have been able to gather some information from the
youth.  
     Some parents could be in this place, too.  They
are terrible.  Don't know how to talk without getting
angry.  Civil talk, calm talk is lacking at times. 
Some parents are not around.  They are single mothers
that have to work, or both parents need to work.  Many
of the youth are not supervised in their local area. 
Whether it be at school, home, or outside.  Many have
gotten the best of the authority parents need for
respect and they whine, are aggressive, and push until
they get what they want, this is not just parent
cultivation, but teacher cultivation, too.  Many of
the youth are not at the educational grade level their
age would predicate.  In the classroom teachers must
be tough, and sometimes staff needs to sit in on the
class to make sure the education environment stays
relatively manageable.  
     Some of the youth do fine at home, but in the
school place they fight authority.  Drugs and alcohol
are an issue.  Much is peer pressure.  They come from
areas where respect is demanded by verbal and physical
aggression towards other youth.  Some talk of their
parents and grandparents saying respect is earned. 
Respect is only given when others give it to you.  The
parents and grandparents are preparing them for the
streets.  The streets are rough, very rough.  If you
don't speak up and speak your mind, no matter how
obnoxious and ignorant you are, it is this
obnoxiousness and ignorance that has others back down.
 They try it with staff all the time, but once staff
give consequences and don't take their attitudes and
tone, the youth soon learn who they can and cannot
target - peer and staff wise.  Yet, staff still have
to handle it, no matter how consistent with discipline
the staff is.  Sex is another issue.  Sex drives some
of the youth to make decisions based on this act. 
Others have been raped and abused at home or away from
the home.  
     Many of the youth are, also, very proper and easy
to talk with one on one, but when they are around
their peers the place of reputation is enduring in
their eyes.  They will not back down if their peers
involve themselves, too.  Right away it is usually
staff telling others to be quiet, go away, or back
into their rooms when one of the residents behaves
improperly.  Watching out for the mob mentality is a
concern when residents become alleviated.
     Are their parents at fault?  Where are the
pressures on their parents?  What about school?  How
much supervision does this youth have as they grow in
urban areas where many people live, yet, their
attention is on $ and work?  Also, how many adults are
outside to supervise our children?  In urban areas
where youth teach youth trouble is teaching trouble. 
This is just how a large population such as the U.S.
is set up with patterns devoting time away from the
home and streets.  Where adults are not teaching any
skills of wisdom passed down from their experience, as
times are changing, and values are outdated, time
spent with family is either uncool or a burden on the
parents that want time to relax as work is long and
hard.
     It is difficult to pin this down on parents only.
 Society is creating this defect.  The neighborhoods
are falling apart.  Peer support is loved when you get
into another person's face in an act of bravery.  Oh,
yes, when somebody speaks their mind and gives
attitude their face is saved and their peers look up
to them.  These king (queen) of the hill mentalities
are strong role models for these troubled youth.  So
after looking at all of this, where do you think this
all starts?

SA  

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