Truancy, academic and behavior problems, emotional disturbance, and placements in a psychiatric hospital marked his early adolescence. Ultimately, he was placed for 18 months in the Pennsylvania Junior Republic, a private, mass- congregate institution for delinquent boys. Seemingly doomed to be a school dropout and to continue a life of social and emotional dysfunction, this white male was strongly influenced by the correctional educators who used their expertise to initiate the attitudes and skills that would eventually develop into success. The correctional education experience inspired in him a positive sense of self-worth that countered years of failure and self-doubt. The youth came to realize that he was neither stupid nor worthless and that with support, guidance, and incentive he could master what formerly had helped define his negative self-image.