INDEX OF QUOTES
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Pioneering child psychiatrist Richard Jenkins (1945) concluded that in spite of the potential abuses of punishment, no society can exist without some negative sanctions to define limits. But children can never be effectively socialized if the balance of interventions are more punitive than positive. If punishment is to be "occasionally and judiciously used," it is essential that it come from adults who communicate an acceptance of the child. Punishment always has a destructive effect if youth interpret it as a lasting dislike or hostility from the people on whom they are dependent for love and security. Rules are to values as obedience is to respect. It is a truism that young people "have to learn to live by the rules." But it is even more important that they develop into young persons who possess what Fritz Redl (1952) called "controls from within." Preoccupation with rules creates a kind of oppression where even the most well-meaning adults lose sight of underlying values. It is much easier to write another procedure than to teach a young person to respect the rights of others. Often high-level administrators send down rules which underlings are to enforce and youth are to obey. These rule books may make those in power feel secure but are likely to be ignored or outmanoeuvred if they are not owned by front-line staff and youth. Research on effective alternative schools for alienated youth shows that they are able to adapt flexibly to the needs of youth rather than make every decision "by the book." Rigid procedures turn professionals into clerks and technocrats. Programs that have shifted emphasis from pursuing rule violators to teaching values of mutual respect create more manageable educational climates. While effective youth workers are not authoritarian, they should possess the ability to be the strong, central force in a group setting. They move quickiy to become what has been called the "alpha individual" as they assert positive social influence over the process of the group. This involves being authoritative but not authoritarian. Only adults who are secure in their own sense of personal power can exercise strong yet noncoercive influence over children. Staff who feel insignificant and powerless will seek power over children as an artificial means of gaining importance. |
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Jenkins, R. (1945) The constructive use of punishment. Mental Hygiene, 29, pp.561-574
Redl, F. (1952) Controls from within. New York: Free Press