Learning to Survive
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
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The second part of Boys Will Be Men focuses on two stories that offer hope. In the high desert of southwestern Idaho, six boys participate in a three-week therapeutic wilderness program. These are boys who have been exhibiting risky behavior, but they are not hard core-delinquents. In many ways, they are like any boy on the verge of manhood, for whom growing up seems suddenly overwhelming. |
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| At first, many of them are angry and resentful at finding themselves cut off from friends, family and everything familiar. But they are also given the tools, the knowledge, and a very clear framework for survival: How to stay warm. How to prepare food. How to build a shelter. The gradual mastering of tasks leads to a measure of self-sufficiency; independence builds self-esteem. At the same time, the need for cooperation with others in order to survive builds an interdependent community in which the students learn accountability. |
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| When staff hold boys accountable for their actions within a framework of honest care and concern, the impact is remarkable. It gives the boys the strength to face their fears on a tough ropes course and, finally, to come together as a trained and tested search and rescue team. They leave with the experiential evidence that they do matter, that they can achieve, and that they can be a valuable member of a community or family. |
