4 Troubled Teens Blog

Professor Anna Mueller at the University of Texas recently confirmed what many teachers and parents have long known or suspected: teens that are under emotional distress can't perform well at school. If one area of a teen's life is causing emotional stress, the other areas of his life will be affected as well. Most parents automatically think "summer school" when a teen is struggling academically, but a wilderness therapy camp can address the root of the problem  emotional distress  so that a teen is better equipped to handle the pressures of life, even after high school is over.

"Instead of learning weather from books, charts, and maps, these teens master weather systems by tracking changes in the wind, temperature, and air pressure... 'Seeing' geology instead of studying it comes as a revelation to most students. They learn to 'read a mountain' by understanding what the rocks and formations in each level mean in terms of the mountains history and composition."

A wilderness camp is a world free from distractions like cell phones, television, and the Internet, where a teen can learn valuable life skills.

Read more online.

Labels: wilderness_therapy, summer_programs, failing_in_school

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

What makes a teenager violent? A new study from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) found that teens with poor academic performance were more likely to engage in violence.

• The national study found that 31% of all teenagers participated in one of three violent behaviors last year, including getting into a serious fight at school or work, being involved in group fighting, and attacking someone with the intention of seriously hurting that person.
• Gender differences were eight percent with 27% of girls and 35% of boys engaging in such violence.
• About 55% of teenagers with "D" grade point averages were involved in violent acts, and this was true regardless of their family income levels. Only 17% of "A" students were violent.
• One in four teenagers from families whose annual incomes were $75,000 or more were involved in violence, compared to 41% of adolescence from families whose incomes were less than $20,000 a year.

"Youth violence has long-lasting, devastating consequences -- the alarming rates of violence found by the study reinforced the importance of our efforts to prevent it," said Pamela Hyde, SAMHSA administrator. "These rates also underscored the need to treat the psychological trauma that can result from youth exposure to violence."

 

Labels: violence, failing_in_school

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment