I refer you to a video talk by Professor of Psychology June Tangney titled:

Shame and Guilt: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly . Recorded September 2006.

http://researchchannel.org/prog/displayevent.aspx?rid=11278&fid=2822

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    I work as a classroom aide in a special education class at a Pacifica high school. Besides that I am a parent of teenage kids. I have been very uneasy that I have not been able to figure out alternatives to prison and jail for young people that do illegal and inappropriate things.

    This is the time of year when it seems a lot of ugly school related things happen: Two $400 dollar windows were shattered over the weekend at the high school I work at.  In the recent months there was a youth who shot an ostrich and the youth now faces legal punishment,  There have been reports of Half Moon Bay youth acting in an ugly belligerent manner toward other schools at sporting events.

    So I have had the feeling that I do not know and I do not have adequate ideas about how to assist with people growing up and becoming adults. The term of art is “moral education”. The June Tangney online video pointed to above provides some very interesting ideas about teachable moral education.

  Interesting ideas: One is guilt and shame are different mental processes. People whose moral thinking are dominated by shame are pointedly at a disadvantage to people whose moral thinking is dominated by guilt. Shame and guilt are not “tombstone” determinants of anti-social behavior. My perceptions of Ms. Tangney’s talk is:  There is enough info to begin the process of recognizing, teaching and guiding people into the more effective kind of moral thinking.

From the researchchannel.org website this is a description of the video.

Description:
Shame and guilt are frequently mentioned in the same breath, as moral emotions that inhibit destructive, socially unacceptable behaviors. Recent research, however, indicates that guilt is the more adaptive emotion. Feelings of guilt can motivate people to behave in a moral, caring, socially responsible manner. In contrast, feelings of shame (about the self) can easily go awry. Professor of Psychology June Tangney offers a summary of current research conducted with children, families, and incarcerated offenders, and discusses implications for parents, teachers, and our criminal justice system.

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Better than watching this video over the internet, I tuned in the researchchannel on a Free to Air satellite dish television. I understand that some commercial Satellite television receivers also receive the Research Channel. According to the research channel website, local cable tv channels can apply for permission to re-broadcast the Research Channel.