Parenting Newsletter Aspen Education Group

In this issue:

Finding Educational Alternatives to Public School

Breaking Down Barriers: Using Art Therapy to Reach Troubled Teens

Wilderness Camp Keeps Teens Out of Trouble Over the Summer

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Spring is a great time to enroll your teen in a wilderness program!

Phoenix Outdoor is a licensed wilderness-based substance abuse and chemical dependency treatment program for teenagers ages 13-17.

SUWS of the Carolinas is a therapeutic wilderness program that uses the outdoors as an alternative to conventional treatment environments, while engaging students using traditional therapeutic methods.

Wilderness Programs for Teens

Four Circles Recovery Center for older teens and young adults ages 18-28 is an innovative addictions, substance abuse and co-occurring mental health disorders treatment program that combines a traditional counseling setting with extensive wilderness experiences.

Adirondack Leadership Expeditions is a character development wilderness program that promotes personal growth through focused experiences. The forested, mountain setting removes urban distractions to allow students room to gain insight into their core values and accept responsibility for their choices.

Turn-About Ranch is a place where old-time values such as hard work, honesty, respect, teamwork and accountability are the standard. Teens thrive in the unique environment of this spirited working cow-and-horse ranch. The objective of Turn-About Ranch is to provide a hard-hitting, high-impact therapeutic program that will remold and turn around the lives of rebellious teens.

Finding Educational Alternatives to Public School

First it was music class, then P.E., and now your child’s favorite teacher has been laid off.

If you walk into a classroom today, you’ll likely find a very different scene than you would’ve found years ago. Your child may be one of 40-50 students in a class with one flustered teacher; computer labs have been replaced with outdated textbooks; and if you need an after-school or summer program, you’re simply out of luck.

Public Education Cuts

The ailing economy has left everyone strapped for cash, including homeowners, cities and states. Some of the public education cuts, such as those in California, are the largest since the Great Depression, resulting in teacher layoffs, cuts to art, music, and athletic programs, increased class sizes, and reduced access to books, supplies and the latest technologies.

Nationwide, budget cuts are affecting public schools in a variety of negative ways:

Increased school expenses including books and materials, use of outdated materials, and reductions to a four-day school week in some areas
Lower quality education because of faculty cutbacks, larger class sizes and teacher burn-out
Dramatic cutbacks in art, music, vocational education and physical education
Cancellations of after-school and summer school programs
Fewer college assistance grants and less support from college counselors

Who suffers most from these cutbacks? Children and adolescents who are stuck with poor academics, a lack of tutoring and support, and fewer opportunities to engage in fun, confidence-building activities.

The most recent spate of budgetary cuts has left many parents questioning the value of the education their child is receiving in public school. For those seeking a different type of experience for their child, other options may be more attractive, such as therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers and wilderness therapy programs.

Learn more about finding educational alternatives
to public schools>>

Breaking Down Barriers: Using Art Therapy to Reach Troubled Teens

As many therapists can attest, teenagers aren’t always the easiest patients to reach. A therapist may sit in a room with an adolescent for weeks without making any progress, and even when they finally make a breakthrough, they have to wonder whether the teen was manipulating the conversation or avoiding the real issues.

Wilderness therapy, in contrast, is highly effective in helping teens focus on their core issues in an environment that decreases defenses, is difficult to manipulate, and appeals to teens struggling with learning, emotional or behavioral issues. Even treatment-resistant teens begin to show who they are and what they’re struggling with when living in the wilderness.

Wilderness Camp Keeps Teens Out of Trouble Over the Summer

Summer vacation is a time when boredom and curiosity lead to trouble. Many teens try drugs for the first time over summer vacation, and many escalate their risky behaviors to the next level.

Is this the summer your child will go from trying marijuana to using hallucinogens or harder drugs? Or the summer your teen will lose touch with childhood friends to start hanging out with a “cool” older crowd?

A Dangerous Mix: Boredom, Freedom and Lack of Supervision

During the year, teens are most likely to engage in risky behaviors after school between 3-5 p.m. In the summer months, when the days are long and the weather is warm, the window of risk-taking is even larger.

For example, in June and July, the rate of teen marijuana use spikes, according to research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The lack of structure and supervision, added freedom and more time with friends increases teens’ access to (and temptation to use) drugs and alcohol.

The ailing economy has given teens even more free time, promoting further risk-taking. With more competition and fewer jobs to go around, the unemployment rate among adolescents has soared to 24 percent, the highest it has been since 1965.

Because many parents work full-time or have other obligations, teens tend to spend more time home alone in the summer. At a time when summer jobs are scarce and public schools are slashing summer school and other programs, teens may seek out a “second family” in their friends, who may encourage more risky behavior.

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