One year before Valentine’s Day, my colleague Katy suggested we make special valentines for each of the kids at the detention center. With the help of the detention officers, we came up with a list of positive qualities of each student. In truth, it may have required us to dig a little deeper for some students. And, sometimes we may have had to exercise a little creativity with our wording. Eventually, however, we came up with plenty of wonderful,…
When we moved to the new detention facility in 2000, our school program received a huge boost in resources. It was exciting because, so opposite from previously, we had complete sets of classroom textbooks. Our wonderful new literature books catered to a wide range of reading abilities. Included in the drama unit was a favorite of mine, an excerpt of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. Every year we read that act of the play, and afterwards, we…
One of my favorite writers these days is Gregory Boyle, author of Tattoos on the Heart and Barking to the Choir. A Jesuit priest and founder of Homeboy Industries, he writes of his experiences working with gangs in Los Angeles. The thing is, although the books are not really that long, they take me forever to finish. I tend to read a little, cry a little, sometimes laugh a bit, and then reread sections multiple times. I’m amazed by his…
Sixteen-year-old Dave was arrested and brought to detention for battery. The incident occurred at the residential facility where he lived. As in similar situations, we were aware he might become combative if he became agitated. He never did. In fact, he seemed happy to be in detention, despite the tight restrictions. Unlike most students, he never even complained about the food. One morning the staff surprised the students with news we’d be having a guest speaker that day. University of Illinois…
On the outside, most of the people I see appear to be doing all right. Most seem to keep busy and are generally pleasant as they go about their daily lives. The truth is, challenges confront all of us. I think I was always aware of that, but only vaguely so. It took a dog to help me better understand the difficulties so many people face. Three years ago I became the owner of a dog I initially didn’t want….
Um, is it wrong that I spent even more than a few seconds today considering how I’d like to be a giant so I could simply flick away people when they bugged me? I know the answer. But what if? I know I too often let little things bother me. But what if someone shared at a meeting – for example – something they’d created that I wasn’t crazy about? And what if I didn’t understand where the idea came…
Every December 31 for as long as I can remember, I’ve made New Year’s resolutions. And for as long as I can remember, those resolutions—often the same ones year after year—quickly fell by the wayside. Each time I failed to follow through, I ended up feeling disappointed. I berated myself for my lack of discipline and added a layer or two of guilt I felt I deserved. Several years ago I transitioned from the impossible resolution lists to creating vision boards. I…
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…
As I wrote in my last post, that first Christmas program at the detention center was truly remarkable. The following Monday the students were still immersed in the afterglow of their wonderful performance. Our school morning began by rehashing the great event. I, too, was still feeling the euphoria, and I was eager to let them know how proud I was of them. “I thought the whole program was perfect!” I told them. “At first I thought maybe I was…
When I think back on the years I taught at detention, I’m always a bit surprised to realize how big a role music played. I never really planned it that way—it just sort of happened. In the later years, we relied on CDs, a keyboard, YouTube and the whole internet to accompany us. During my first Christmas season at detention, however, we had only cassettes, vinyl records, and good old “a cappella.” Despite the limited technology available, we started singing…