Reclaiming Youth at Risk: Our Hope for the Future

So often we read books that don't contain useful information. This one does. Our entire school district is making this our Special Education focus this year. We are also trying to mesh it into our regular classrooms. With so many suspensions and much frustration in dealing with "at risk" behaviors, this Native American philosophy takes us back to the basics of community and caring for one another. It reinforces the idea of having students become responsible for themselves along with the support of the community; be it a small or larger group. An appealing and easy read that will remove many of today's frustrations in dealing with all youth and turning our viewpoint of what education should be to a new outlook with hope.

I have taught high school in regular and alternative settings, currently I teach at a university. I love this book. Every class I teach I have my students read this book. I realize there is a lot of cultural biases in it, but the principles are true. Honestly it makes no difference where, or who you teach. Everyone can benefit from this book. I have even had students tell me they sent their book home to their parents to help with a sibling. Again the principles are true, don't get caught up in the culture.

As someone who works with at risk youth I think this book is a must read. Especially for anyone who has never worked with at risk youth before. I wish that I had known about this book when I started, it would have made a huge difference in how I approached the children and my work. I highly recommend it and if you get the chance to speak to the authors they are incredibly insightful.

This is a great tool for people working with youth. It is a simply written book that avoids any of the modern jargon in this area; it also deals directly with the issues facing adults and youths and their involvement with each other. It attempts to redirect our way of thinking about troubled young people and works on showing a way to restore their relationships with themselves, each other, adults and the 'real' world. This book isn't bogged down in goobledygook and aims to show a way to create restorative relationship practices and includes much well worn wisdom.

As Education Director at an alternative high school for American Indian students, I find this book a valuable and useable resource. In a succinct fashion, the authors lay out a philosphy for creating school environments that reclaim students at risk. The Reclaiming model integrates traditional Native American aproaches to discipline and child development. The book does a nice job of explaining and illustrating each of its principles. The book offers an intuitive and very old model as well as a rationale for implementing it. For its accessibility and ideas, Reclaiming Youth At Risk should be read by everyone working with young adults.