Culture Nature & Freedom Treating Juvinile offenders

Culture, Nature & Freedom: Treating Juvenile Offenders.
In Kansas, Juvenile offenders are sent to "Youth Centers". These
are merely Child prisons, lockdown facilities for kids. This style of
treatment goes against every idea of growth put forward in this class. In
this paper I will try to justify the use of residential treatment schemes
through the ideas found in several of this semesters authors; including
T.Huxtley, Rousseau, DuBois, Freud, A.Huxtley, and Mill. The Ideals set
forth by these intellectuals should be the basis for all treatment, to better
the individuals and society.
First, We can look to DuBois. He believes that people can change
their own consciousness. He shows this through his Immersion narrative.
This can't work in a youth center. The only cultural ideal here is the
Master/slave dialectic between staff and youth. The sides work apart. The
two can't join because one does not experience the other. There is no way
to be "above the veil" of their status. In a residential treatment modality,
Relationship building is key to success. The youth need to feel the veil
has been lifted. It allows them to explore safely and see the world in a
greater view. The view as other is removed and a true balance displaces
the master / slave one.
Next, we can look at Mills Ideas on culture. He would like to elevate
the morals of the human mind. To do this, we must continually test the
standard. New ideas must be able to circulate freely. We must weigh how
all actions effect others. This can not be done in these Youth centers as
well. They have very specific codes and any questioning is reprimanded.
Cultural influx is at a standstill and Censor ship is at it's highest possible
level. A residential treatment modality gives all ideas a free shot. Self
Government, A system used by the youth assures a safe environment to
share all feedback and new ideas openly, to non judgmental ears. it looks
at how one's action are related to others and provides a 'safe place' for all
expression. Allowing ideas to stay fresh and moral stability and growth to
flourish.
This leads us directly to the dehumanization described by T.H.
Huxtley. First, we have the effects of Social-Darwinism. We are using our
own projections of nature for a model. These children are being culturally
pushed aside for progress, stuck in mini prisons. Where, rather than fix
problems, we push them into suffering so that we may achieve gains.
Then there is the idea of the gospel of wealth. Why help these kids? My
money is a product of an evolutionary force, so is there placement.
Helping would only interrupt their punishment. These Youth Centers also
rob them of their ability to meet the goals of our society's Protestant
work ethic. They have no contribution! These three things let us
dehumanize these children and put their responsibility off on others.
Residential treatment, on the other hand, removes the gospel of wealth
mentality; earn as much as you want, monetary forces are not
evolutionary. Intervention is key to Residential Treatment, no
punishment of lower classes. This system makes everyone equal. This
flows into the work ethic removal as well, everyone contributes and the
group benefits. No individual benefit is given out. If one is good, then all
are good. Finally, it erases the mask of Social-Darwinism. The youth work
to meet goals for each other. No one wants to be above the rest. A strong
whole help everyone individually as well. A week whole causes resentment
and jealousy.
A look at Wiesel gives us insight to the effect of the political
institution on these Centers. Are these kids a product of our culture? If so
how do we keep this from occurring? The answer is not to lock them up.
What family bonds were available? Instead of locking the kids up, we need
to find our mistake! Rationality has an opportunity to fail here.
Residential treatment lets everyone be separate and define their own
meanings of life, between being and life itself. This helps each youth find
meaning in life virtue of their own experiences.
From here we can move to A. Huxtley. His views show what would
happen if culture completely displaced nature in society. This translates
to the society of a youth Center. Youth Centers are completely
denaturalized, almost to the point of being sterile. The futures of these
youth should not be predestined, and mapped out as in a youth center.
Here progress is mapped. In a residential style treatment setup the social
control is through self government and peer interactions, not a cultural
controlling body. Also the myth of progress is dismantles. Residential
treatment looks for change not progress. These ongoing changes allow for
humanness. There is an availability of true human values, not just the
pop culture presented in the prison center.
Finally, we can look at Freud. His ideas link the behaviors exhibited
to inner problems with family and society. He brings into question the
moral and cultural values instilled by other institutions such as church
and school. He trys to place things in several different categories. First,
The Eros and Thantos Dialectic. Agressivity hang in the balance here. Our
family structure should let us put the primary agressivity we have in
check. Regardless, Freud looks to the person and the cultural venue for
answers. A youth center is only a storage facility. There is no therapeutic
gain achieved in these Child Prisons. They merely use reactive measures
to stop behaviors, instead of looking for antecedents proactively. Once
again residential treatment has an edge. Through the self government,
relationship building process, and cultural challenges, the youth in these
settings work on the exterior antecedents that may be effecting their
behaviors . This ,in addition to clearing the distorted cultural view, also
provides a venue for problem solving and rational discussions of ideas. It
provides a vehicle for the youth to begin the self searching required to
look into some of these ideas and find a better reality. Growth and gain
for all is the key. For Freud, this is achieved by keeping drives in check
between the pleasure principle, our moral super ego, and the
authoritative "I" in the ego. Again, this is only done in residential
settings. Youth Centers only house children, hampering all these abilities
spoken about above.
I believe that the question of how to rehabilitate Juvenile Offenders is
simple. We must Fix kids instead of locking them up. The Ideas presented
here are the most sound way to do that. These theories allow for mental
growth, equality, change and freedom from censorship to new ideas. This
is exactly what these youth need. Their culture has limited them and
placed a veil over them in society. Residential treatment is the only way
to remedy this. The safety of idea exchange and the freedom of growth
allow for each youth to develop the personality needed to question the
right things and put the cultural puzzle together. Youth centers only let
them sit, and ponder the only culture they know. This makes the group
Fester and fall further down the rungs of the societal ladder. This setup
only hardens the veil of separation between the troubled youth and
society. As you can see residential treatment is the only alternative to
give these youth a chance to gain the skills needed for life today.