Funny... sometimes something is so totally obvious and in front of your face that you just don't even recognize it...
I recently did a fornits-wide search for POSITIVE PEER CULTURE and got 131 hits. Despite there even being a thread titled
Positive Peer Culture, the just previous post in
this here thread was on the first page of the Search results.
It is pretty obvious that Hyde-DC (or Mark Murrell) used one of the several "Positive Peer Culture" manuals or internet descriptions out there as a rough template to construct this particular webpage. And
that says something about Hyde Schools as a program.
And just
who uses PPC as an instrument of behavior modification? Pretty much every single other program featured on fornits. It is currently "all the rage" in the troubled teen industry.
Incidentally, PPC evolved directly out of another system of behavior modification called "Guided Group Interaction." GGI was originally used on military prisoners by prison administrator Lloyd McCorkle in the late 1940's. He went on to use it on juveniles in the Highfields, NJ reformatory a few years later, publishing results in 1958. McCorkle subsequently went on to become top dog in the New Jersey prison system.
And where did GGI evolve from? Therapeutic communities used in World War II to get soldiers back on the battlefield instead of being coddled on psych leave. McCorkle allegedly learned his stuff both here and abroad during WWII.
· · ·
Here is that previous post copied with the highlights from the aforementioned search underlined and in
red. I have also highlighted words in
pink which were clearly substituted for one of the original in POSITIVE PEER CULTURE (e.g., "student" for "peer"). I also highlighted the so-called antithesis "weak school cultures," since that phrase is clearly evoking a "negative peer culture."
-------------- • -------------- • --------------
School CultureThe secret to Hyde's character development in students is a
positive, peer-driven setting where students are expected to take ownership for their education and are guided in establishing high expectations for their own development.
Kids, and teens in particular, have a natural and healthy need for
peer group acceptance. How
positive or negative the general student peer groups are will determine the "soul" of a school's culture.
Hyde Leadership Public Charter School sees the establishment and maintenance of a
positive, student-driven school culture as the key factor in helping individuals develop
positive long-term habits, attitudes and behaviors. When this
culture is shared in spirit throughout the school, and spans all staff, parents/guardians and students, a
positive and secure foundation is established for meaningful character development and academic excellence.
Forming this unified
culture is the core of our successful and long lasting Hyde program. When the
culture of a school is strong and student-driven, the student-adult "tug-of-war" seen in
weak school cultures is eliminated. Partnerships and trust replace adult control. Students in turn are better able to begin connecting the need for sound character with their own hopes, dreams and potential.
The formation of a
positive, student-driven school culture is not easy. Hyde begins by requiring students to commit to Seven Standards of Personal Excellence and Seven Standards of Community Excellence. Together these personal and community standards of excellence form the foundation of a disciplined and upbeat community where students can achieve and succeed with dignity, pride and meaning.
