Justin Lookadoo entertained and informed parents on Thursday night at the Stanislaus County Office of Education’s latest “Choose Civility” event. Lookadoo is a former juvenile probation officer turned professional speaker who lectures across the country. Lookadoo said that he does consultation work with schools and parents who have made national headlines because of crisis situations. 

“What I’m excited about here (in Stanislaus County) is that I didn’t get a call because you were on the national news,” Lookadoo said.

Lookadoo was invited to speak at county schools as part of the Choose Civility initiative that is ongoing in Stanislaus County schools and business communities. The idea is to help Stanislaus County citizens of all ages act in a positive and respectful way. Lookadoo commended the office of education on their choice of proactive programming, rather than typical “anti-bullying” attempts.

“Anti-anything doesn’t work… but every issue that pops up after this can fall under ‘Choose Civility,’” Lookadoo said.

After six years as a juvenile probation officer, Lookadoo tries to understand issues from a teenager’s point of view. On Thursday he gave parents advice on how to deal with boundaries and enforce rules in a way that teens will actually respond to.

Tom Changnon, Stanislaus County superintendent of schools, said that the Choose Civility program is something that area schools need right now.

“We don’t want our children growing up in a Jerry Springer world,” Changnon said.

To contact Andrea Goodwin, e-mail agoodwin@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2003.