In the second installment of the new ABC series Brat Camp, everyone is pushing buttons. The kids are testing limits and pushing staff's buttons, other kid's buttons, and their own buttons. The staff are using the program structure to push the kids' buttons. While it may seem like a bad idea to actually put pressure on sensitive areas with troubled kids, it can be exactly the correct thing to do.
When people get pushed to their limits, they tend to get more 'real'. . . .both in honesty and in vulnerability. The trick for adult staff with these kinds of kids is to know when to keep up the pressure and when to lay off. I was impressed tonight that the show was honest enough to present the staff expressing some moments of doubt with each other as to their ability to maintain control of the group.
Oh, and Fire Shaper rules.
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