Eagle Ranch Academy Concentrates on the 8 Core Values of Character
By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2010-12-20 11:06:28 | Word Count: 664
Here at Eagle Ranch Academy, we believe that any troubled teen can turn around and have a successful, productive life; as long as they take to heart the lessons they will learn in our program. We teach them what we consider to be the 8 Core Values of Character, to help them face the challenges of the real world, and help them to hold steadfast against the temptations and bad choices that led them to us in the first place.
These are:
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1. Accountability – “I will be Accountable for the things that happen in my life.”
2. Honesty – “I will be Honest with all of my relationships.”
3. Forgiveness – “I will Forgive everyone, including those who have hurt me.”
4. Acceptance – “I will Accept who I am and not seek the acceptance of others.”
5. Integrity – “I will be the same person always in front of people, as I am behind them.”
6. Respect – “I will Respect others and myself.”
7. Trust – “I will earn the Trust that I have lost and take the risk of Trusting others.”
8. Service – “I will give back to others because I have been given much.”
Many of the kids we see are good kids who have simply made bad choices; that is why we don’t give up on them. In addition, since we provide treatment for gifted troubled teens, we help them to recognize and build on their strengths, so that they will stop performing beneath their abilities.
Our focused program is based on positive behavior modification techniques, which in turn, are based on sound clinical psychology principles and years of experience in helping struggling teens. Along with therapy, hard work, and other seminars and workshops, such as our trademarked Life Coaching Skills TM, our aim is to allow students to come to their own understanding of the importance of these core values in making a real change in their lives.
The minute they walk through the door at Eagle Ranch Academy, they begin work on the first core value: taking full responsibility for the actions that lead to an addiction or other problem. A lot of the activities we give them to do in their 12 member groups are meant to encourage introspection and reflection, so they can get to core value #2: honesty. Many troubled teens have internal defense mechanisms that help them to lie to themselves about the nature of their actions and its consequences on their own lives and the lives of the people closest to them. This is the part of the program that is the most difficult: coming to a full, honest realization of the state of their lives. After they reach this breakthrough, then comes two other very difficult things to learn: forgiveness, (of themselves and of the people they believe were at fault), and acceptance of themselves, (without letting their sense of self worth be dependent on others).
The last four core values, from Integrity to Service, are really mental and emotional tools teens need to cultivate and use as guides to navigate their way successfully through the rest of their lives. These also keep them on the path of maintaining the first four core values, (accountability, honesty, forgiveness and acceptance).
At Eagle Ranch Academy, we know what the core values of society’s brightest, most successful adults are, and that’s why we teach our teens the 8 Core Values of Character.
