WEBVTT 1 00:00:11.020 --> 00:00:14.100 The mother in this family recently died. 2 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:21.820 Though missed by her family, they are adjusting to the loss, except for the son, whose recent 3 00:00:21.820 --> 00:00:24.320 behavior often has vicious overtones. 4 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:34.820 The doctor and school authorities recommended institutional life, but he was always such 5 00:00:34.820 --> 00:00:35.980 a good little boy. 6 00:00:37.960 --> 00:00:39.940 Now certainly this is a home. 7 00:00:41.000 --> 00:00:43.720 It is in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood. 8 00:00:46.300 --> 00:00:49.280 The father is on his way to play golf with the boss. 9 00:00:50.160 --> 00:00:52.720 But wait, his son has a problem. 10 00:00:54.540 --> 00:00:55.800 Will you help me, dad? 11 00:00:55.900 --> 00:00:57.460 I can't get the chain on. 12 00:01:00.900 --> 00:01:03.740 I'm in a hurry now, son, but I'll fix it tomorrow. 13 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:08.640 He said that yesterday and the day before. 14 00:01:09.580 --> 00:01:11.740 His wife tries to understand him. 15 00:01:12.100 --> 00:01:13.160 Why can't the boy? 16 00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:20.800 Three families, three different environments, three potential candidates for Star Commonwealth 17 00:01:20.800 --> 00:01:24.860 for Boys near Albion, Michigan and Van Wert, Ohio. 18 00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:42.520 This doorway to hope stands ajar for the selected boys of your community who are in trouble 19 00:01:42.520 --> 00:01:45.480 at home, at school, or with the law. 20 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:52.000 Their behavior, reflecting some youthful hurt or an unbearable situation in their early 21 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:57.520 lives has made society reject them, and they have rejected society. 22 00:01:58.160 --> 00:02:04.400 Each is a mentally and physically normal boy whose record and personality prompted the 23 00:02:04.400 --> 00:02:10.680 juvenile court judge or interested person to commit the boy to Star Commonwealth instead 24 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:13.740 of to a public institution for incorrigibles. 25 00:02:14.440 --> 00:02:20.580 Officials who deal with the troubled young know Floyd Starr's motto, there is no such 26 00:02:20.580 --> 00:02:22.060 thing as a bad boy. 27 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:31.320 For more than 50 years, his philosophy of love, acceptance, and individual treatment 28 00:02:31.320 --> 00:02:36.740 have been available to thousands of socially and emotionally maladjusted boys. 29 00:02:41.320 --> 00:02:46.880 Without the benefits of a home filled with love and attention to their special needs 30 00:02:46.880 --> 00:02:53.660 to guide them to maturity, these boys will become problem parents, producing more problem 31 00:02:53.660 --> 00:02:54.500 children. 32 00:02:56.840 --> 00:03:01.740 Each generation, a link in a chain of delinquency. 33 00:03:05.860 --> 00:03:12.720 Floyd Starr has established a doorway to hope to help break this chain and provide 34 00:03:12.720 --> 00:03:17.020 a boy with another opportunity to become a good citizen. 35 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:35.020 Beyond this doorway, a campus and farmland of 2700 rolling acres and over 28 buildings 36 00:03:35.020 --> 00:03:40.320 have been built through the generosity of patrons of the philosophy of Floyd Starr. 37 00:03:43.640 --> 00:03:49.260 Old English type cottages and general education buildings are all on the main grounds. 38 00:03:51.760 --> 00:03:59.040 More boys demand more housing. As funds are donated, these ranch style homes on the north 39 00:03:59.040 --> 00:04:07.720 campus are completed. There are no bars, no guards, not even fences. So rebelling youngsters 40 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:11.080 who want to run away find it easy to go truant. 41 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:18.520 This doorway to hope provides a boy with a nicely furnished home and pleasant surroundings. 42 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:26.940 Each home has a house mother and sometimes a house father. It is their duty to know where 43 00:04:26.940 --> 00:04:34.960 their youngsters are at all times, to supervise the television programs, and to keep group 44 00:04:34.960 --> 00:04:37.020 discussions at a healthy level. 45 00:04:40.260 --> 00:04:46.300 These sessions, though well flavored with opinions and grievances, tend to promote cottage 46 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:47.000 loyalty. 47 00:04:57.360 --> 00:05:03.800 Each boy must learn to take responsibility. He is assigned monthly duties and is made 48 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:10.300 to feel responsible for the way he carries them out. These duties are not punishments. 49 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:17.280 Every boy participates and does his share, putting into action the name of the school, 50 00:05:17.780 --> 00:05:19.380 the commonwealth of living. 51 00:05:22.500 --> 00:05:30.380 His opportunity also includes learning courteous and respectful behavior, acquiring the ability 52 00:05:30.380 --> 00:05:41.560 to serve a meal properly, to enjoy a balanced diet, to master table manners, to feel at 53 00:05:41.560 --> 00:05:52.900 ease in a jacket and tie at dinner, and at the end of day to expect clean pajamas and 54 00:05:52.900 --> 00:05:54.000 a clean bed. 55 00:05:58.320 --> 00:06:05.520 The boys range in age from 10 to 16 years, so they must attend the accredited school 56 00:06:05.520 --> 00:06:10.000 program for grades 5th through 10th. 57 00:06:10.640 --> 00:06:16.920 STAR teachers are required to have extra training in special education as well as unlimited 58 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:20.120 patience, understanding, and discipline. 59 00:06:22.500 --> 00:06:29.120 These attributes, applied in small classes, sometimes makes it possible for STAR boys, 60 00:06:29.620 --> 00:06:35.020 frequently behind in their schooling, to reach their normal grade level in a short time. 61 00:06:37.320 --> 00:06:41.340 Not all boys, however, can be helped that quickly. 62 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:51.720 Emotional problems often block the boy's ability to learn, so each must be taught with 63 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:53.700 consideration of his special need. 64 00:06:55.880 --> 00:07:06.220 It takes time, time for old wounds to heal, time to express oneself without fear. 65 00:07:08.880 --> 00:07:16.280 The campus museum and its varied collections have been donated to stimulate a boy's curiosity. 66 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:25.020 The museum director tries to extend the boy's interests from the classroom to studies of 67 00:07:25.020 --> 00:07:28.760 early cultures and to works of contributing artists. 68 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:36.960 Consequently, some boys are stimulated to become more creative. 69 00:07:49.900 --> 00:07:55.320 Many entertainers perform for the boys to broaden their horizons and inspire them. 70 00:07:59.520 --> 00:08:05.000 Prominent lecturers and visitors enlighten the boys in sex education, law enforcement, 71 00:08:05.580 --> 00:08:08.440 safety, vocations, and travel. 72 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:19.360 Participation in band, shop, and the physical fitness program also provides therapy. 73 00:08:21.280 --> 00:08:28.740 Each requires mental discipline, muscular control, and reveals the necessity for rules. 74 00:08:32.300 --> 00:08:42.440 No one really wants to hit the sour note, make a crooked table, or fumble the ball. 75 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:55.520 Do they fight among themselves? Of course they do. They are full of resentment. They 76 00:08:55.520 --> 00:09:01.500 strike out against the world and the blow falls on whomever is closest. If the infraction 77 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:08.480 is serious, they will lose a privilege. Good behavior merits all privileges. Misconduct 78 00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:09.760 restricts. 79 00:09:11.940 --> 00:09:17.660 It hurts to see the bus leave for town with its happy load when a fellow has lost his 80 00:09:17.660 --> 00:09:18.720 right to go along. 81 00:09:22.980 --> 00:09:33.260 A favorite privilege is an off-campus pass for a shopping trip, sporting event, or a 82 00:09:33.260 --> 00:09:40.660 visit home. Passes and vacations are valuable to the STAR program as a testing period. They 83 00:09:40.660 --> 00:09:46.260 condition the boy to return to his former life. Will he adjust to the pressures of his 84 00:09:46.260 --> 00:09:55.400 family, or will he revert to his old bad habits? If these lessons are hard to take, 85 00:09:55.860 --> 00:10:00.980 there is always the understanding social worker waiting to help him at STAR Commonwealth. 86 00:10:04.120 --> 00:10:10.780 The opportunity of having someone to talk to who really cares is greatly appreciated 87 00:10:10.780 --> 00:10:19.780 by the boys. When boys return, they are asked to evaluate their vacation. Were the other 88 00:10:19.780 --> 00:10:28.200 kids glad you were home? How did you fit in? Their subsequent behavior is a criterion of 89 00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:32.080 how they are developing and in which area more counseling is needed. 90 00:10:34.620 --> 00:10:40.160 The social worker knows that when a bully torments his classmates, he is trying to prove 91 00:10:40.160 --> 00:10:46.360 something to himself. The social worker also realizes that the fear of losing his old way 92 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:52.260 of life can make a boy continue to steal. He doesn't want the things he takes, but his 93 00:10:52.260 --> 00:11:00.100 life is void of love and security, and it's an empty feeling. The social worker knows 94 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:08.600 that destructiveness is a manifestation of too much pressure. Most boys find it difficult 95 00:11:08.600 --> 00:11:17.100 to believe that they will be loved in spite of their behavior. An overweight boy sometimes 96 00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:24.780 has special problems. He is counseled by his social worker, checked by the athletic director 97 00:11:24.780 --> 00:11:28.480 who prescribes a diet and arranges special workouts. 98 00:11:36.640 --> 00:11:44.740 His house mother gives him constant encouragement. As he gains self-confidence, adjustment to 99 00:11:44.740 --> 00:11:49.120 his environment becomes easier, and he becomes happier. 100 00:11:51.360 --> 00:11:58.080 More counseling is needed in some cases than in others. Intensive help is given to boys 101 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:07.320 who come to star confused in their concept of right and wrong. A treatment team of a 102 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:14.780 psychologist, social workers, and a consulting psychiatrist tries to direct each troubled 103 00:12:14.780 --> 00:12:23.900 boy to better understand himself and to develop a more outward-looking philosophy. If this 104 00:12:23.900 --> 00:12:30.220 is achieved, the boy will begin to show maturity and will take part in group therapy sessions 105 00:12:30.220 --> 00:12:35.320 where boys discuss their problems with one another to gain new insights. 106 00:12:39.420 --> 00:12:45.960 The social worker also evaluates a background of knowledge from former home records, present 107 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:53.880 school reports, informal observations, cottage, and infirmary information. To help measure 108 00:12:53.900 --> 00:13:00.920 and explain the problems of the boy, periodic conferences are held on the campus. When a 109 00:13:00.920 --> 00:13:11.000 cooperative relationship exists between parents, boy, court worker, and staff of Star Commonwealth, 110 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:14.460 a greater insight results for all concerned. 111 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:25.980 On visiting Sundays, relatives must accompany their boy to the chapel in the woods for the 112 00:13:25.980 --> 00:13:36.100 nonsectarian church service. More than 20 religious backgrounds are represented among 113 00:13:36.100 --> 00:13:42.140 the boys, so only the best-known hymns and the book of common prayer are used. 114 00:13:49.620 --> 00:13:55.880 Through evening devotional readings and prayers, the boys are further encouraged to have faith 115 00:13:55.880 --> 00:14:09.480 in God. Most of the time, Star's program is successful. It's a happy occasion when the 116 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:16.360 staff believes a boy is ready to leave and awards him a certificate. Their promise to 117 00:14:16.360 --> 00:14:21.320 him of an opportunity to become a good citizen has been kept. 118 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:31.240 As he leaves through the doorway to hope, he has a new set of values. He can assume 119 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:38.520 a new place in his old society. Indoctrinated with high standards and motivated by self-respect, 120 00:14:38.520 --> 00:14:45.220 he and other Star graduates are more capable of finding tolerance for themselves and others. 121 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:51.900 Using these attributes, they have already started to forge the first link in a new chain 122 00:14:51.900 --> 00:14:58.800 of strong and reliable generations to come, an ideal for which Floyd Star has devoted 123 00:14:58.800 --> 00:14:59.520 his life.