A Personal Frustration

I just got home a shift at work. Definitely less stressed out then I have been after the last couple of shifts that I've worked, and I know it's got a lot to do with the fact of who my shift partner was tonight.

I worked tonight with Ana. Ana has been at Richardson long before I even started as a student there (for anyone who doesn't know..I work in a residential home for Children's Aid). She is someone from whom I have a learned a great deal from in terms of working with challenging and difficult behaviours, and how to still love kids despite everything else that goes on. It's so apparent that Ana loves her job, she loves working with kids, and she puts everything that she has into her work. Tonight at settling, one of the boys came out of his room when he knew he wasn't supposed to. Instead of just getting frustrated with him (as a lot of staff at my work do)...Ana asked him if the real reason he had come out was because he needed an extra hug before going to bed. Turns out...that's exactly what he needed.

Although I have the privledge of working with and learning from some incredible child and youth workers...at the same time, I work with some people who I honestly question whether or not they even like kids. People who get more caught up in the politics of the job then worrying about the actual effect it all has on the kids we work with...people who are more concerned with talking to their significant other on the phone then interacting or getting to know the kids we have living at the house...and people who are just too lazy to go above and beyond what they're required to do and just do the bare minimum so that they can keep their job.

I think that there is a lot of people who think that they are good with kids...or would like to think that children love them, and if they wanted to, they could always "fall back" into a field that involved working with kids (i.e. half of the people in first year of my child and youth worker course who dropped out after the first semester...). But then I go to work and see staff who seem to have forgotten why it was they got into this field in the first place and care more about their pay cheque then they do seeing our kids get stabilized and get to go back home or into a permanent residence.

I could go on a whole other rant about the lack of care, concern, time and effort people in general put into children and youth (within the church or not...), but what I'm left feeling really frustrated about at this exact moment in time are the people who have chosen to be responsible for the lives of children...people who have made the decision to take the outcome of a child's life in their hands...people who have the opportunity to mold a child's life into something far greater then it is...and then just flat out blow it. They let the opportunity pass them by.

Tonight before dinner I had a few free moments, so I went to our little gym at the house and played some basketball with our newest resident. (I straight out suck at basketball, but looking on the positive side, it always makes the kid feel better about their skills.) While we were playing, we got to chatting and I found out that he wants to be a construction worker when he grows up. When I asked him why, he said because that way he can build things for his kids. As well, because it will challenge his mind and make him smarter because he will need to do math calculations on the job (that's almost word for word..and he's 9). The conversation with him totally made my day and just reminded me how continually impressed I am with kids when I take the time to build relationships with them.

So many kids are without a proper mentor or adult to look up to or model their behaviour after. How much more important does that make the job of someone who willingly puts themselves in the role of being a leader or worker to children and youth? Definitely not a role to take lightly.

Blessings.