Teen Uplift (13-17)

Our programs for teens are conducted by mentors with parenting and teaching experience, and bring to the table professional training in the following techniques:

• Child development: Constructive and proactive Adlerian and logotherapy approaches, emphasizing self-esteem building, holistic individual behavior analysis, identity and social context, and community entrepreneurship. The works of Alfred Adler, Deborah Tannen, Rudolph Dreikurs, and Susan Tordella are central to the conceptual approach.
• Team-building: Application of team-building exercises modified for education, integrating goal-oriented teamwork and practice skills from team and individual coaching methods (soccer, basketball, tennis, yearbook planning, etc.). Such thinkers as Peter Senge and methods of experts such as Cornerstone Team-building are integrated into Coflict^TM sessions.
• Root-cause analysis: Using System Dynamics as a methodology for modeling the domain allows a uniquely practical approach for determining where to best allocate time, energy and materials to set the stage for future intellectual and emotional growth of teens. The tool used, Stella, is widely applied in advanced school systems for hard science experiments, but rarely if ever for modeling social behavior and “soft variables”, as it is in Human Systemics^TM. 
• Heuristics: All aspects of the program are designed to be self-teaching and “exportable”, such that teens may take the practices and apply them in daily life outside the workshop environment and build confidence and skills. We stress basic critical thinking skills and the nature of good sourcing. Theories promoted by thinkers such as Susan Blackmore and Douglas Hofstadter are central to this process.

Each activity is specifically tailored to this age group, and has been tested on multiple continents over many years. These activities are engaging and fun for teens, who often do not even realize they are learning fundamental life skills. Unlike many similar programs and teen camps, these are designed to give the optimal results in the shortest amount of time.