Today was probably the most stressful day of work I've had this summer. For starters, one of my students was re-arrested last night, which is always a bit of a disappointment. Then, though I wasn't actually leading the class today, I still managed to become incredibly frustrated at the constant disruptions. The students were just not in a mood to be focused today.
It's difficult, trying to figure out how to deal with this stuff. While we could tell them to shape up or we won't count their attendance, or that we'll tell probation that they're not behaving themselves, I figure that having spent three to nine months (or more) in a juvenile facility, they're all too used to the idea of punishment. I don't want to punish them, but I don't like to just let them get away with everything either. I've been trying to strike a balance, and from their point of view I'm probably not doing too poor a job, but sometimes I feel pretty helpless here.
Despite my rather bad day, it's occurred to me that I fully understand many of my (former) house mates, who found relatives willing to pay the Indy Peace Institute program fee for them and came to work this summer to earn nothing. While I couldn't have afforded that, I've realized that, if I could, I would happily do this job for free. It's not easy, and not always fun, but it is always good work.
I'm glad to be here.
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