It’s happening again! Something I read a few years ago has been regularly resurfacing in my mind. From previous experience I’ve learned those thoughts are not likely to go anywhere until I give them some attention. And because the timing now feels so right, I’m ready to put in the effort. In one of his books, Father Gregory Boyle references Julian of Norwich, who said that the truest and most authentic spiritual life was one that produced three things: awe,…

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“I am a brick wall! You will never break me!” the strapping man-sized teenager thundered. Day after day he refused to participate in activities with the other students at the detention center. Not even “The Birdie Song” could win him over those first weeks. His attitude was typical of many kids in detention. The barriers they’d erected for their own protection and survival seemed impenetrable.   Some months later this same boy was tried as an adult and convicted of…

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Holiday music programs became pretty standard at JDC while I was there. After that first year, the audience grew to include many adults working with the students.  There were  probation officers, attorneys, social workers, detention volunteers, and even a judge along the way. The eventual move into a new building improved the ambiance—as much as any jail-like facility can claim such atmosphere. Cookies and punch after the programs seemed to help a lot, too. Unlike most performances, at JDC we…

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Because of the constant turnover at juvenile detention, new students arrived often. One morning it was a tall, slender 16-year-old named Anthony.  He swaggered into the classroom with a “don’t-you-dare-mess-with-me” arrogance.  When I’d meet students like Anthony, I would try to cajole them into a better mood. I wanted them to let go of their defensive facades and to become one with the group. My efforts, however, weren’t always successful. I certainly made no progress that day with Anthony.  Maybe…

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For as long as I can remember, music has played an important role in my life. I have enjoyed listening to it as well as performing from time to time. BY NANCY KIDD At JDC I frequently turned to music to supplement our other activities. In addition to our morning “Birdie Song,” we rapped about the bones in the body, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. “Schoolhouse Rock” helped us memorize the preamble to the Constitution. And sometimes we sang…

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Robert was one of those high school students who took awhile to grow on me. In the beginning, like so many others, he was so tough and defiant – way too cool for school at Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), especially when I expected him to join in singing “The Birdie Song.” He didn’t say it, but I could read it in his face, “You want me to do what??? You’re crazy, lady!” BY NANCY KIDD Then just like the many others…

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BY NANCY KIDD When our boys were in middle school and high school, my husband and I bought a small karaoke machine for Christmas, something we both thought seemed like a fun gift. Although we may have felt a bit underwhelmed by the boys’ level of excitement, when I took it to detention, the students’ responses were more animated. It was a new experience for most of them, and it was a rare opportunity to relax and have some fun….

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BY NANCY KIDD Detention is a cold institution where kids have little privacy and where they don’t make a move without getting permission from a staff member. Kids have no access to cell phones, the internet, or any type of social media. Television viewing is limited and closely monitored. Their meals, prepared by inmates at the nearby county jail, consist of a lot of white bread, beans, and rice. Knowing all this, it is unbelievable anyone would ever deliberately want…

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