Progress and Troubled Teens

Sometimes our work can seem difficult, frustrating, and sometimes downright impossible. Then one day as we confront a student he reaches down inside himself and finds all that knowledge that we have been trying to teach him for months and it makes your heart soar. Every impossible moment is absolutely worth it. This happened to me just last week. 

A student had struggled to make progress and working with him has sometimes felt a lot like beating your head on a wall.  A mentor had asked him to redo a section of his chore and this young man started getting upset.  At first he told the mentor to shut up and leave him alone.  He was starting to spin when I walked in.  I tried to calm him down and asked if he could please be reasonable and just do what the mentor had asked.  I asked him to please pull himself together – it was nothing to get upset over.  He then asked if I would please stop talking to him. 

I figured, well, that is better than shut up so I said ok and went back to my office.  A few minutes later I heard a small voice calling my name. I got up and went out. He was standing his hand on the mop, head down. He apologized for being rude to me and said he knew I was just trying to help!

Hallelujah!  I realize this is a small step, but it is a positive step none the less. For this young man, I see progress in his future. Sometimes it starts small. by Erin Nestor, Admissions Coordinator