Barry Belvins, Executive Director of High Frontier in Texas, was interviewed about using positive peer culture by Lon Woodbury and Elizabeth McGhee on Parent Choices for Struggling Teens hosted on L.A. Talk Radio. During the discussion, the guest explained how other teens are a part of the community and they are used as an important part of the healing process. Based on his experience, he believed that PPC is more effective than a residential program that relies on a wide range of rules.
Lon Woodbury who is the Host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens is an Independent Educational Advisor. He is responsible for the famous Woodbury Reports. Since 1984, he has worked with families and their struggling teens . Elizabeth McGhee, who is the Co-Host of the radio show is the Director of Admissions for Sandhill Child Development Center, New Mexico. She has more than 19 years of experience working with adolescents.
About Barry Blevins
Barry Blevins has run High Frontier, the treatment center in West Texas, for more than 27 years. He graduated from Sul Ross State University with a Masters of Public Administration then later qualified to become a licensed child care administrator in the State of Texas.
The Many Advantages of Using Positive Peer Culture
Barry Blevins talked about using Positive Peer Culture. He said it worked better than the familiar peer pressure method. He contended that behavioral rules were counterproductive. They took away the focus from the emotional healing process. These rules could easily mask erratic behavior patterns. By not hiding behind such a formal authoritarian structure, it was so much easier for everyone to begin addressing the real problems.
Through positive peer culture, students remind their fellow students about the agreements. This takes the burden off the staff, and removes the threat of a power struggle. The result is that students feel empowered. They feel as if they have chosen to do something, rather than feeling that something has been imposed upon them. Students understand their own acting-out behavior better when an intervention occurs from fellow students. In this scenario, adults play a peripheral role, as facilitators instead of authoritarian controllers. The role of staff was not to punish.
Liz McGhee had trained under Barry for many years, and she added to the discussion on the benefits of using PPC by pointing out students that students had to realize that they were there for each other and were not monitors for their peers, just colleagues.
Lon Woodbury who is the Host of Parent Choices for Struggling Teens is an Independent Educational Advisor. He is responsible for the famous Woodbury Reports. Since 1984, he has worked with families and their struggling teens . Elizabeth McGhee, who is the Co-Host of the radio show is the Director of Admissions for Sandhill Child Development Center, New Mexico. She has more than 19 years of experience working with adolescents.
About Barry Blevins
Barry Blevins has run High Frontier, the treatment center in West Texas, for more than 27 years. He graduated from Sul Ross State University with a Masters of Public Administration then later qualified to become a licensed child care administrator in the State of Texas.
The Many Advantages of Using Positive Peer Culture
Barry Blevins talked about using Positive Peer Culture. He said it worked better than the familiar peer pressure method. He contended that behavioral rules were counterproductive. They took away the focus from the emotional healing process. These rules could easily mask erratic behavior patterns. By not hiding behind such a formal authoritarian structure, it was so much easier for everyone to begin addressing the real problems.
Through positive peer culture, students remind their fellow students about the agreements. This takes the burden off the staff, and removes the threat of a power struggle. The result is that students feel empowered. They feel as if they have chosen to do something, rather than feeling that something has been imposed upon them. Students understand their own acting-out behavior better when an intervention occurs from fellow students. In this scenario, adults play a peripheral role, as facilitators instead of authoritarian controllers. The role of staff was not to punish.
Liz McGhee had trained under Barry for many years, and she added to the discussion on the benefits of using PPC by pointing out students that students had to realize that they were there for each other and were not monitors for their peers, just colleagues.
About the Author:
Find out more about Struggling Teens. Lon Woodbury has the recorded the entire interview on his L.A. Talk Radio show for people to listen to at any time.
No comments:
Post a Comment