For almost a decade I worked with youth who were, or had been incarcerated. Many of the students I served were remanded to the care of a Youth Detention Center focused on behavioral and psychological services. Many more were identified as Emotionally Disabled and placed in a self-contained setting as directed by the Least Restrictive Environment portion of their Individual Education Plan.
The work was demanding. These young souls were deeply troubled, had suffered great trauma, and some had made choices that exacerbated their situation.
They understandably lacked trust. Trust was the fundamental key that opened the door to learning new social and behavioral skills. The door to that room swung on the hinges of relevance, repetition, and reward - honest reward.
Relevance - the skills we taught had to make meaning in their lives.
Repetition - the skills had to be modeled and repeated many times over.
Reward - we collaboratively leaned into teaching intrinsic reward systems - the ethics of being human.
The map to the door was made available. The location of the key was known. The door was painted bright red. Everyone was invited, and shown the door. Each child was given an individual map that catered to their individual needs.
Nothing was kept secret. They were shown the way and were supported in mistake making along with their success.
A great deal of resources were applied in helping our children achieve a sense of who they were outside the context of the things they'd done and things done to them.
I felt the sometimes overwhelming heartbreak when one of my students acted out physically, harming themselves and others. I also bathed in the joys associated with my students being placed in a loving home, graduating our high school, or securing a job. The pendulum swung violently, and we did our best to replicate those successes for others.
As I reflect, I find honesty in my heart. The integrity of the narrative that was accessible to everyone in my care. It is this; In spite of, and often because of, all that you are, you can succeed.
The epistemology of that narrative was open to everyone in my care.
Color of skin, ethnic background, socio-economics, sources of trauma, degrees of trauma, years of incarceration, degrees of crime or guilt, degrees of innocence, etc., played no role in the ability to access the narrative and participate in the program.
The single determining factor was one of personal character. Sometimes it is called grit. One of my students suffered violent sexual and physical abuse at the hands of both parents. Another was an active leader in a prolific street gang. Still another was a rapist.
ALL of them were afforded access to the narrative. All of them given a personalized map. None of them had to justify their existence by virtue of victimhood, or oppressor. They simply and purely had to try, and, were truly rewarded when they even approximated success.
Are the current gated institutional narratives accessible to all? Are we shown the tools we need? Are we included on the ways in which those skills are measured? Do we know, personally or collectively, at what point we have achieved measurable success?
I wonder.
Onward!
Dr. J
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