A MOTHER'S PERSPECTIVE

What I Have Learned About the Coyote Youth Project

By Jan Cowan, mother of Abraxas High School Student

"Susan and Tom of Backyard Tourist have an infectious love of the outdoors and it shows in everything they do. They teach you the skills to survive in adverse surroundings. Having the knowledge that you can survive the cold or heat, provide food and shelter gives you the confidence that you can exist in inhospitable surroundings without modern conveniences.

Unfortunately, many of our students consider massive modern schools inhospitable. They have managed to progress through the school system and somewhere along the way, whether it be from undiagnosed learning problems, school transfers, or an unconventional way of learning, they have not grasped the necessary skills to survive in this environment. When they start to fail, their self-confidence disappears and with this, motivation to succeed also fades. It actually is a self-fulfilling spiral downwards; the child feels he can’t succeed and teachers seem to think that constant punishment will cause the student to be successful, when in fact the child has such a poor opinion of himself, he feels that the punishment is deserved.

In these large schools, it is very easy for some children to get lost in the system and feel that no-one cares. It takes a lot of encouragement from everyone for a child to start to begin to feel that he may have the ability to achieve success, and then he will begin his progress.

Backyard Tourist teaches survival skills to these students, it may be in different surroundings than a school, but it encourages them to believe they have the capacity to overcome adversity and gives them the self-confidence to try. There are no failures, the unconventional solution will work here. Susan and Tom understand the problems that these children are trying to overcome. They really know where praise and encouragement are needed, and provide the stimulation and motivation to make them successful."

June 2001

I believe that the Coyote Youth Project is very beneficial to students. A lot of teenagers have trouble with their grades as a result of problems at home or mentally. They are distracted by their problems and are unable to deal with the concentration and memory that it takes to succeed. They can get into alcohol and drugs to make them forget, further damaging their education. I don’t think that it’s a simple coincidence that your average Abraxas student attends this school due to a lack of credits, and/or drug problems.
The Coyote Youth activities could really improve the attitudes and mindsets of a lot of young people when faced with an awareness of a real need to survive, more simple issues like the opposite sex or money problems seem less important and less stressful.
The feeling of accomplishment a student can get by conquering basic elements such as sun, wind, and rain can give people an attitude that helps them to believe that they are capable of getting over other problems. They are more confident in their abilities and where they are in the world.
When a student feels good about themselves, they are better able to concentrate, memorize, and truly comprehend. They’ll be more at peace with themselves and probably less apt to start fights.
The Coyote Youth Program can and is willing to provide all of these benefits for any student interested. With its availability and casual environment, it is an attractive choice, widening each person’s world to further education.