Hi Sandy,
It shows that you love your youth work - you must be special because it is very hard.
I worked as a IT Teacher in a Youthreach school here for a year or two.
The kids have been usually thrown out of ordinary school as they are difficult, or have underlying problems such as alcoholic parents that do not feed them, so they have to steal, are addicted to drugs, and or have lived rough on the streets, orphans or sometimes learning difficulties that cannot be diagnosed as an illness.
I found it really distressing, loved the teaching and spent a lot of time making lesson plans to get kids interested by focusing on their favourite football teams or other interests, but it was the neglect and abuse that they were or had been through, that really stopped me from sleeping at night, worrying about the poor loves.
One girl came in one day with a broken arm and very bruised all over her face, told me she fell down the steps.
After taking her into the staff room for coffee, she finally told me that her dad had come home drunk beat her mum up, so she went in to try and help her mum and he threw her out of the upstairs window.
I tried to get social services involved, asked mum to come in for a chat, as the girl was terrified that he would hurt her sister who was only 13, she was 15. I told the head of the school and asked him to talk to them on behalf of the school and tell her she could take a barring order out etc.
Mum was scared to death and would not do anything to help herself or her children, he was a long distance driver, and this behaviour happened when he came home and got drunk.
There were several instances, some worse than others, that kept me awake at night, eventually Joe asked me to quit because Tara was only a baby and I was paying out most of my money on childminding, petrol and lunches, and not getting any sleep was making me ill.
The boys were unruly but football projects on the internet and writing about their favourite's on the word processor did finally get them through their exams, so that they had a chance to get a job, with improved english and computer skills etc. I enjoyed the job, lesson planning and teaching, it was the personal and emotional problems I just could not handle - not the right type - I just could not switch off when I walked out of the door like the other teachers could.
We never really dealt with arrogant parents, most of them were just glad the kids were with us and not them
I love working with kids now, at infants and juniors, it is great fun and very rewarding. In the future I would love to have more chance to work with kids - they are so funny, and watching them with the piglets, ducks and hens is just brilliant.
