The mind of the typical at risk or incarcerated teenager has been constructed over a lifetime of educational failure and generally negative experiences.  As a result, such a child has a very defensive and negative attitude toward school in particular and life in general.   The course has been designed to effectively deal with the foregoing reality child through a variety of teaching techniques, which are sometimes subtle and other times very direct.  A solid foundation for future learning, as students gain an understanding of their own abilities and incorporate high level knowledge designed to motivate and fuel them toward a free, happy and productive life.

Teaching strategies which focus directly on perspective as the critical first component to rehabilitation are incorporated throughout the course.   From the basic lesson contained in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, to present day analogies which capture that lesson, the teacher is provided with an assortment of techniques through which to create a healthy perspective toward learning and life.   In addition, there is a semester worth of daily activities which have been designed by Dr. Dell DeBardinas, a clinical psychologist from Houston Texas , with a special background in aggressive violent teenagers, particularly the female population.  The activities blend perfectly with the text of the Pathways to Excellence course, and provide the teacher with something to introduce on a daily basis with positive impact in the classroom.  

This course has been approved for college credit in Texas and New Jersey .