Reasons NOT Causes

The 13^th Edition is the current Edition and has been widely acclaimed by those who have experienced it. The 13^th Edition accomplished what it set out to do: it defined the actual cause (personal choice) of excessive substance use; it definitively demonstrated that neuroplasticity was an element of excessive drug and/or alcohol use and that neuroplastic change was an effective solution for excessive drug and/or alcohol use problems; it concatenated the Freedom Model with the Law of Universal Motivation which explained drug and/or alcohol users freedom to use and their freedom to not use, subject to the user's motivation to use or not use; and, it expanded upon on the BRI proprietary CBE technology. This was the culmination of Baldwin researchers 24 year effort to identify the actual cause of excessive drug and/or alcohol use, and to develop a method were drug and/or alcohol users learned to stop their destructive drug and/or alcohol use by the user's own volition. Seemingly, the Baldwin researchers had arrived at their final destination: they had identified the actual cause of excessive drug and/or alcohol use and they had discovered the solution that actually worked, a solution that provided the drug and/or alcohol user to choose more rewarding activities.All appearances embraced the idea that the 13^th Edition had done what no other research achieved.But the 13^th Edition, while an excellent program for Saint Jude Guests, left the Baldwin researchers with still unanswered questions.

For example, are people taught to behave a certain way or do people learn to behave a certain way? In 1991 Baldwin Research published the Baldwin Research Project of 1991, Drug and Alcohol Addiction Treatment Research, III.4. - Baldwin Academy - A Solution. As that study progressed through the 1990's Baldwin Research Institute founded the Baldwin Academy (aka Jude Thaddeus Academy). The Academy was described as follows:

"...This was no easy matter, because any proposed curriculum must deal with the monumental task of turning these "problem adolescents" into problem solvers. These teenagers are independent, and for that reason rebel against education and school. But, we found that if they were encouraged to learn through independent study, they were eager to study and educate themselves. It is a very old and simple idea that a person will be happy learning and working on something in which he or she has an interest. Henry David Thoreau observed, "If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours." The goal was not to have the teachers educate the students; rather it was the goal to have the teachers help the students realize their dreams.

As a result JTA used an open curriculum. The students were encouraged to read and write, but were not told what to read and write. We wanted to trigger the lust for knowledge that had been long buried in these students. The students read what they pick out of the library. Then they wrote about what they read and explained it to the rest of the class. The class then had an open discussion about what they had learned from each student's analysis. Rather than an open curriculum, we prefer to say that our curriculum encompassed all subjects. For example, one student wanted to pursue acting, so she was encouraged to join an acting club. Another wanted to learn about automobiles; he was encouraged to work on the school car with a friend. All students were encouraged to play sports and exercise as well as to join us on our biweekly mountain hikes. Mathematics and sciences were presented in the same fashion. Those students who wanted to learn more than the basic life skills were encouraged to do so. Each student was required to pursue something that sincerely interested him or her.

The English and History program was modeled after the reciprocal arrangement that Salinger talks about in Catcher in the Rye. Salinger wrote, "Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as some day, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement."

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