Sing it with me now...Y M C A!

What happens when you combine The Monkees and The Village People?

Joke from: 2BlogMusic.com

Art from: marcroballistic

I've been looking for a project aka a job. The financial situation in the world and in our household is just a little too tough for me to sit back on my heel's just yet. So, since I was not happy about having to head back to corporate, I decided to see if I could advance a long-standing goal I've had to work non-profit. With some searching and a whole new view of what Craig's List is all about, I was successful in my quest. I am now employed by the YMCA as a project manager.

The title is that of Project Manager, but I've come to find that I don't really think this is accurate. Yes, I manage projects, but that's not all. I am actually the Site Manager for a local junior high school, wherein I am responsible for running the Afterschool Program. My job entails tutoring anyone who needs it, but with primary focus on kids (particularly 9th graders) with failing grades, often with disciplinary issues (as I'm sure you can imagine go along with it.) I deal with school administration, which so far has gone pretty well, and with a plethora of kids.

For the sake of privacy I'm not going to indulge any of you with the exact location and details, however, suffice it to say that it is an inner-city school, with a very diverse demographic...which is code for lots of kids from lower-income households with a spectrum of colors and cultures.
It's no cakewalk, but it is interesting, hard work, that has it's fun moments...but mostly a lot of "Hey! Watch your mouth!" going on and a lot of "Why an F? What's going on? What happened?" to the tune of "I dunno." and "I don't like to do homework."

I've been there for a couple of weeks now, and while I definitely don't have the total hang of things (there is a TON of paperwork that has to be done for the sake of record keeping and audits because everything is grant based...sooooo not my favorite thing to do...) I am getting a good grip on how things need to be run. Discipline, consistancy, fairness, and regularity are definitely at the top of the list. Education, tutoring and communication are all up there in the basket as well.

In the Afterschool Program we have a snack, followed by homework and tutoring time, followed by "Clubs" meaning coordinated activities that last about an hour, followed by a few minutes of free time then off to the bus to go home. The homework and tutoring time has been a bit of a tussle, but we're getting it squared away and back in alignment with where it needs to be. No video games, no wandering the halls, actual bonified reading, writing and rithmetic...and science...and health...and history and etc.

Just like most kids, these need some focus, and some regularity. A lot of them come from bilingual households where the parents do not have an extensive education and no doubt are not only dealing with a new country and new language but a whole new way of education and learning.

Some of the kids have expressed...how shall I say it...less enthusiasm than others when it comes time for studies, but too bad soooo sad. I'm in charge and this is part of the program. I'm not here to be their buddy, but rather to be a mentor and a leader, and someone that they can trust to get things done and to keep them on track. This doesn't mean we don't have fun, it just means we all have our place on the food chain.

I've had several inquiries of "So...are you in charge?" and "Are you in charge now?"...oh yes. I am in charge now. LOL

I've also had "Well, how come you're changing everything?" and "Well, so-and-so let's us do it this way..." or "We're suppose to have Free Time!" and etc. A: Not changing everything, just getting it back on schedule. B: So-and-so was just trying to get things done with a short staff ans as a fill-in. We're back to the regular routine. C: No Free Time until homework time is over.

I'm not mean about it, because I don't think mean-ness is effective. These are kids with plenty of mean in their lives already, I don't need to add to it. But, I am firm and fair--at least I'm trying my best to be and I'm not going to let you get away with stuff you shouldn't be, just because you think you should be.

Anyway--my point is that there is a learning curve for all of us. For me, for them, for the staff, but that it seems to be going pretty well. There have been some bumps, and no doubt there will be more, but for now I feel like I'm contributing to something of value and like I can actually help them get somewhere.

I know I won't be able to save them all, because that is never how it works out, but maybe a few of them can take some good things away with them that will help them to thrive in the big, bad world out there. I hope so. I hope so.