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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bread Upon The Water who wrote (134857)	7/23/2013 10:49:48 AM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

I like your ideas and think it is high time the government took some serious steps in this direction. I don't think you can just dictate to teen moms about family values or to hoodlum boys to become fathers. However, you can offer them an alternative that works and let them choose for themselves. I have worked in programs for at risk youth that worked well. It was in the 90s. The model program I helped with brought kids who were committed to making a change. The highly structured model was set up with positive role models, dignified jobs, education, and leisure activities. The kids did very well while in the program. The idea was to give them the experience of a solid, stable, productive life and convince them they could identify with this kind of success and pursue it on their own once they left the program. Schools are adequately funded for what they are supposed to do but just adding more money will not give the kids the experiences they need. Huge piles of money have been targeted to turn schools around in the past, with disastrous results. A specific model to meet specific needs is what is needed. It is not hard to figure out what needs should be addressed. Just read articles on resilient children who have overcome at risk hardships. In most cases the gaps (absent father, low economic level, environment, etc) are being supported by some non-traditional resource in the resilient children. We found this type of thing (the model) is not for everybody. People have to want a better experience and be willing to commit to a program like that to make it work. The idea of a model is to show the rest of the world what can be done so that you can replicate the success stories in other areas. Of course it is not popular to suggest positive male role models make a difference in children's lives but most experts know it is essential for social and emotional health in both boys and girls.