The Youth Charter: How Communities Can Work Together to Raise Standards for All Our Children

I can honestly say that upon finishing this book I had no questions about the how's or the why's of implementing a community Youth Charter. In fact, I have begun to do exactly that. I started last week and have now had meetings with police, local government, religious, youth workers, teachers, youth, parents, etc. Everyone has been very receptive and many have gone out to buy their own copy of this valuable book.I appreciated the in-depth theoretical sections. I believe that I can now effectively answer questions as they are posed to me. The book seems to speak to people who are interested in spearheading this process in a community. The examples were very helpful as well and the journal format at the beginning was well-received.I feel this book is extremely well-written and it gave me much hope. I am in the process of getting the word out to key individuals and from there I will develop a task force leading to a series of community forums. I am very excited about this project.I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of feeling disempowered by the negativity of the youth culture. I believe in our youth and I know that people like William Damon are giving youth a chance by empowering the adults in their lives to work cooperatively to solve problems.

If you want to learn how to help children, improve your community, and most of all, provide a place where children thrive in their moral and intellectual development, this is the book. Dr. Damon is one of the world's leading child psychologists and experts in adolescent development.

We all have our individual expectations of what our aspirations for our children are, but we seldom share these expectations with others. The result is a community that meets no ones expectations when it comes to providing a positive environment for raising their children. Mr. Damon's solution to this problem is expressed in the book's title. The Youth Charter is based upon the premise that when it comes to our aspirations for our children, we have more in common than we may realize. Virtually every parent wants their children to be happy, healthy, successful, honest, decent, intelligent and to develop many other positive virtues. The basic problem is that we don't know the extent of the agreement on these matters, because we don't bother to ask. Respect for individual choice and freedom has given way to silence and acquiescence to all views, and any view is given equal footing with a common view, out of fear of offending someone. The bulk of The Youth Charter is directed towards creating the means for a very necessary series of discussions to take place, and how to act positively to attain the ends which all of us desire.The involvement of all authorities and groups in a community is essential to the success of a youth charter, and Mr. Damon details how to geth them involved.Even if you do not subscribe the premises which Mr. Damon lays out, the detailed means for motivating and undertaking positive action is very worthwhile reading.