June 12, 2024, Bellemont- Heat came to call today; “only”87 F, but for any sort of outside activity, the Arizona (and, increasingly, global) sunshine merits caution and respect. Nonetheless, a group of young people worked hard, this afternoon, on renovating a sorely neglected Prayer Circle.

A separate matter, regarding the education of young adults, has arisen. Even the most loving and dedicated of educators, including, for a time in the late 1970s into the ’90s, yours truly, have bought into the myth that “tough love” is what young people need most. Corporal punishment was once a part of that, though I myself never stooped to that level. Cooler heads, in U.S., Canadian and European schools have prevailed-and gradually, educators in developing nations are seeing the folly of sanctioned bullying. Our issues are more a matter of the manner of speech directed at one’s charges. I have effectively used humour and insight education, in getting co-operation from the kids, this week. The program director is likewise pursuing gentle persuasion, in enforcing the rules. The other tutors, some educated in harsher programs themselves, are taking note, and modifying their own approach.

This generation is more proactive and more worldly, than we and our succeeding two generations were, as teens. The impulsive behaviour surfaces, every so often, but the youth are more amenable to subtle hints and succinct requests than many of us were.