Youth bad behaviour has reached an intolerable level. Teachers are frazzled with alarming rates of separation from the profession. Those professions with direct awareness of the scope of criminality, lawlessness, and plain disrespect have tracked its escalation for over a decade. Four years ago, I produced a profile of negative behaviours for youth in Logan, Queensland .The signs were there even then. Pease visit our project site at:
The media is raging with calls for action to address a crisis in youth crime. Ideas are surfacing for stronger penalties, revoking bail, longer sentences, adult time for adult crime, and increased ankle bracelets worn. The cries of the aggrieved victims of crime are getting louder and public outrage is a feature of every daily news broadcast calling for action by a palpable increase in penalties. These penalties are designed as deterrents. But don’t and can’t fully address the problem … why are young people engaging in such antisocial behaviour and how we can proactively prevent this criminality.
Criminal behaviour is the extreme expression of youth disaffection. As we hear of the crime sprees, the media reports on teacher burnout in other news. Disrespectful, outrageous and disruptive behaviour is rife in schools. Expulsions, suspensions and the behaviour that prompts them have escalated.
Historically, we have a generation of youth, significant numbers of whom have disengaged, are disrespectful, and are lawless. If we don’t address the cause, then I predict that the need for escalation in penalties will grow exponentially. A colleague and I have launched the Adrenaline Project, a potential solution that could bring hope to this situation. Please check out our project site.
We hear the community’s cries for action. But we need to stop the disaffection at its source. We need to intercede to eliminate generational disenchantment with authority. Our research shows that engaging parents, providing support programs for parents, and delivering targeted, bespoke adrenaline programs for young adolescents at risk of disengagement from school are three integrated ways to interrupt the development of delinquency.
The Adrenaline Potential Project is our idea for change. We desire to introduce the project and to implement a trial in 2025 in Logan. Please get in touch with me through this website if you’d like to help.
Promoting Teacher Education 