vendredi 25 juillet 2014

Why Using Positive Peer Culture Is So Effective

By Saleem Rana


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.

Who is 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.

Although Counter-intuitive, Using Positive Peer Culture Works Well

Barry Blevins discussed how using Positive Peer Culture worked better than the traditional peer pressure process. Barry strongly believed that behavioral rules could become a distraction from the emotional healing process. Moreover, these rules were often used to mask a behavior. By not hiding behind such a structure, it was much easier to see the root of the problem.

Positive peer culture was about students making and abiding by agreements. This took the pressure off the staff. With no rules to enforce, it removed the power struggle. Students liked the results. It made them feel empowered. They felt as if they had a choice in the matter. Students comprehend their own bad behavior when a peer points it out to them. Adults could not focus on being facilitators. They did not have to be authoritarian controllers. They were not there to warn or punish bad behavior.

Since co-host Liz McGhee had actually worked for Barry for a number of years, she joined in the discussion on using positive peer culture by talking about students had to realize that they were there to share their concern for their peers rather than to try to control them.




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