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RECLAIMING YOUTH AT RISK
Our Hope for the Future
By Larry K. Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg, & Steve VanBockern
Bloomington, Indiana:National Educational Service:1990/Revised
2002
[This book was provided for review by the Bookstore Circle
of Courage, Lennox, South Dakota 605-647-2532]
Reviewed by Lon Woodbury
The purpose of this book is to apply Native American child-rearing
philosophies and some child rearing principles based on Western
psychology, to the modern problem of youth at risk.
The first part of the book examines young people’s feelings
of alienation from society in general, and from adult society,
specifically. The material in this section will be quite
familiar to professionals who work with children with problems.
The second section explores the unique Native American perspective
of child-rearing. The authors assert that healthy self-worth
is learned through four areas: children feel they are significant
to others; they feel competent in mastering the environment;
they have the power to control their behavior to gain the
respect of others; and they have a sense of their own worthiness
as measured by the "values of one's culture and of significant
others." They further assert that Native American educational
practices successfully address each of these four ideas through "celebrating
the universal need for belonging"; "Guaranteed
opportunities for mastery"; "encouraging the expression
of independence"; and a "preeminent value of generosity."
The third section reviews current trends in educational
practices that also build on these four areas such as focusing
on relationship and attachment building, using positive peer
culture, and brain friendly techniques. The authors show
that the assumptions that are currently becoming widespread
in education circles are also very consistent with Native
American practices - they are based on the same basic premises
about human nature and the needs of children. For example,
discipline is used to develop responsibility, thus natural
and logical consequences are favored instead of punishment,
which can often be damaging. Also, the popular idea of community
service helps build a generous spirit.
This book can be very helpful to programs that draw from
Native traditions. It will also help professionals to understand
that some of the new ideas becoming popular in education
circles have been used for thousands of years in Native American
cultures. |
