...Of course, (click here) the superpredator predictions were completely unfounded, as Mr. DiIulio himself later admitted. “Thank God we were wrong,” he said in 2001, from his comfortable post in the Bush White House’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. Juvenile crime, like all crime, was in fact declining throughout the 1990s.
Two
decades later, it’s easy to look back in judgment, but it would be a
mistake to think the nation has fully moved beyond that mind-set. Many
states continue to punish juveniles as harshly as they can, even though
the Supreme Court has held in a series of landmark rulings since 2005 that young people are “constitutionally different” from adults....
Martin Lee Anderson was the reason Boot Camps were outlawed in Florida. But, it wasn't until his death did that occur.
The bad boy, what does the USA do with all these bad boys to straighten them out forever and make them productive citizens?
As much as teens 15 -17 believe they can make all their own decisions and carry out life as an adult it is a forgone conclusion that is not within their growth anf development.
Teens are better able to solve problems, (click here) think about their future, appreciate opinions of others, and understand the long-term effects of their decisions. However, teens tend to use these skills inconsistently; as a result, they sometimes do things without thinking first.
The problem in the USA does not belong to the Teen. It belongs to the society the Teen has grown up in. Teens have no power. They have no control over their outcomes. They are dependent on a majority society to bring them into maturity.
I raised two boys. They were great. I loved every minute. Their growing up years were not smooth as glass. I remember a dear friend who was also a child psychologist stated to me, "You are great mother. They are lucky they have you as their Mom. It's fun raising them, isn't it? A parent never knows how a youngster will do 'In the Wild,' but, you've tamed the wild and treated them as thinking people for most of their years. They are lucky."
I don't want children to be lucky, I want them to be loved, well educated, respected and guided into their own lives free of any 'fear of life.'
My boys were never afraid of life, but, it took a lot of parenting and vigilance to keep them on track, make them known they were loved and find the maturity when it showed itself. I was fortunate to have a better than Middle Class employ and was able to always find great supervisors when I wasn't around and activities with adults that actually cared about them.
When I was growing up, my family was not wealthy, but, those same values were present in my life.
Parenting is a REQUIREMENT to raise a child into a wholesome citizen with sound values and aspirations. Unfortunately, in the USA the commodity of parenting is missing in most households where parents are required to work two to three jobs to keep food on the table. Those parents are not without love for their children, but, they are without 'face time' to prove how much they sincerely do love them.
Superpredators? Bad children? There is no such thing, but, only the society that neglects them and their families.
Martin Lee Anderson was the reason Boot Camps were outlawed in Florida. But, it wasn't until his death did that occur.
The bad boy, what does the USA do with all these bad boys to straighten them out forever and make them productive citizens?
As much as teens 15 -17 believe they can make all their own decisions and carry out life as an adult it is a forgone conclusion that is not within their growth anf development.
Teens are better able to solve problems, (click here) think about their future, appreciate opinions of others, and understand the long-term effects of their decisions. However, teens tend to use these skills inconsistently; as a result, they sometimes do things without thinking first.
The problem in the USA does not belong to the Teen. It belongs to the society the Teen has grown up in. Teens have no power. They have no control over their outcomes. They are dependent on a majority society to bring them into maturity.
I raised two boys. They were great. I loved every minute. Their growing up years were not smooth as glass. I remember a dear friend who was also a child psychologist stated to me, "You are great mother. They are lucky they have you as their Mom. It's fun raising them, isn't it? A parent never knows how a youngster will do 'In the Wild,' but, you've tamed the wild and treated them as thinking people for most of their years. They are lucky."
I don't want children to be lucky, I want them to be loved, well educated, respected and guided into their own lives free of any 'fear of life.'
My boys were never afraid of life, but, it took a lot of parenting and vigilance to keep them on track, make them known they were loved and find the maturity when it showed itself. I was fortunate to have a better than Middle Class employ and was able to always find great supervisors when I wasn't around and activities with adults that actually cared about them.
When I was growing up, my family was not wealthy, but, those same values were present in my life.
Parenting is a REQUIREMENT to raise a child into a wholesome citizen with sound values and aspirations. Unfortunately, in the USA the commodity of parenting is missing in most households where parents are required to work two to three jobs to keep food on the table. Those parents are not without love for their children, but, they are without 'face time' to prove how much they sincerely do love them.
Superpredators? Bad children? There is no such thing, but, only the society that neglects them and their families.
