Some people in your community have big problems that cost you. The problems cost you in taxes for police services, in out-of-pocket expenses for replacement of stolen equipment or in emotional drain from constant but suppressed fear of personal attack.

We think of drugs, home invasions, addictions and car theft as functions of modern communities. We believe that high divorce rates, homelessness and break-ins form the basis for a new kind of society that never existed in the past, a reality of the 21st century.

Personal problems of others, such as poverty, mental breakdown, spousal abuse and school yard bullying we prefer to avoid thinking about.

They all derive from two causes: people who can't manage to cope with the downturns or conditions of their lives and people who don't have a clear moral foundation about such things as murder, hurting others and stealing.

Some turn to crime, addictive drugs or alcohol, life-threatening thrills or violence when they can't cope with conditions they fear and can't manage.

Since psychologists and therapists deal with these very problems every day, we simply need to apply their knowledge to younger people before they need it, before they "break" from social standards of normal behavior.

Schools teach concepts; it's what they do. They believe they're not allowed to teach some concepts due to regulations forbidding the teaching of religion.

We need to separate religious teaching from the basic principles that people of all religions agree upon and allow schools to support the teaching of them by parents. No one wants to become a drug addict, a divorcee or a felon, but most don't see other options.

Kids need consistency from their authority figures during their formative years, both at home and at school. Both home and school need to provide role models, teach standards of their communities and encourage children to seek help when they have problems.

The methodology and means to rearrange school curriculum to address social and emotional development of children provides the main focus of a new book by Canadian sociologist and educator Bill Allin. Turning It Around: Causes and Cures for Today's Epidemic Social Problems gives easily and cheaply implemented solutions to the worst social problems of any community.

Today's kids need more than traditional facts and skills to survive extraordinary demands on their social and emotional development as adolescents and adults. A child with a social or emotional problem can't progress intellectually because the former preoccupy their minds, their attention and their emotions.

Schools are in the best position to help support time-challenged parents.



Learn more about this unique approach to solving community problems and avoiding personal ones at the book's web site:

http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl



Contact Bill Allin:

705 - 657 - 9468

http://billallin.com/cgi/index.pl

turningitaround@sympatico.ca

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/turningitaround

Bill Allin

R. R. #1 Buckhorn

Ontario K0L1J0

Canada



About the author:

Bill Allin taught primary, junior and intermediate classes of all socio-economic categories for nearly two decades in Canada. He gained an unusual perspective on children's needs, social skills and coping mechanisms that other professionals have overlooked. He holds a Master of Education degree from the Ontario Institute of Education, University of Toronto.

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