| New
& Views
- Apr, 1992 Issue |
Adolescents in
Crisis Conference
January 23-26
By Bryan Bates
(602) 527-9228
(Bryan Bates
is an independent educational consultant and naturalist who
specializes in Math and Science for the "At-Risk" student.
He has extensive classroom and backcountry experience with
adolescents. His interest is working with the inner child
and extending to the natural environment. He can be contacted
at 9045 Beautyway, Flagstaff, Arizona 86004.
In January 23-26,
over two hundred professional counselors and health providers
gathered in Tucson for the First Annual "Adolescents in Crisis"
conference, co-sponsored by the National Prevention Task Force
and Sierra Tucson Adolescent Care Center. The tone for the
conference was probably best set by Dr. Joseph Cruse who,
in his opening keynote address, stated "all this [negative,
unhealthy behavior] is happening and we just accept it as
normal." The basic direction he presented is that care givers
must formulate a support community for the family, which ought
to consist of school teachers, counselors, state social welfare
officials, financial representatives, the medical profession,
the legal profession and all other agencies/individuals who
create/release tension within a family unit. Only through
the community process will an "at-risk" family break out of
the cycle of producing "at-risk" children.
Each workshop was
its own unique experience, yet from my standpoint, there were
some key moments and issues. Prior to leading all two hundred
of us on a beautiful guided imagery, Rokelle Lerner vibrantly
expressed that in healthy families, the parents adjust to
their children: in unhealthy families, the children adjust
to their parents. She offered that perhaps a key to helping
adolescents is to graciously assist them to explore what they
hide from their parents/caretaker, as it may well be hidden
from their view of themselves.
Throughout the conference,
a common thread of several presentations was the question,
"What do kids (and adults) get from negative subcultures that
is more attractive than our mainstream culture?" Several presenters,
(Bob Jackson on Gangs, Valerie Heller on Satanism and Janis
Gabe on how to stop losing kids) all reiterated that sub-cultures
offer a sense of place, of belonging, of ritual, of power.
Kids are attracted to negative sub-cultures because somebody
pays attention to them. When kids need something to believe
in and the family doesn't provide it, the sub-family (i.e.
the gang, the cult, etc.) will. The basic message was very
simple: We as adolescent caregivers have to offer the kids
something more than the gangs, the cults, or the drugs. We
have to be user friendly, vibrant and rewarding, focusing
on what can be positively attained and publicly recognized,
and we can never take something without first replacing it.
One of the delightful
yet disturbing presentations was that of Judge David Admire.
One of the disturbing revelations was the degree to which
an antiquated, overburdened judicial system serves to perpetuate
the problems we see facing adolescents and adults. It seemed
from his comments that we need to find a more effective way
to counsel and modify behaviors prior to adjudication, for
once a kid arrives before the bench, the legal system itself
becomes another albatross about the kid's neck.
If you have trouble
wondering what you would do in order to compete for a kids
well-being, you are not alone. But the whole tone of the conference
emphasized that we are winning --- one kid at a time, one
day at a time. Each program has its own way of approaching
the challenge, of hooking into a specific type of kid. And,
each program has the responsibility to critically evaluate
itself on what works and what doesn't work, what's true and
what's not true. Then in an honest concern for the children
of our country, we need to share with each other what, how,
when and where. We ourselves need to become a tighter community.
To all who were unable to attend this year's "Adolescents
in Crisis", may I heartily recommend that you create the time
to attend the Second Annual Conference.
Copyright
© 1992, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper
publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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