Culture, Nature & Freedom: Treating Juvenile Offenders.

Culture, Nature & Freedom: Treating Juvenile Offenders.

Groneman

Argiro, T.

W. Civ. 205

December 12,1996

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?