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At the very end of last month, we held our final spring culminations at the probation sites Camp Rockey, Camp Afflerbaugh, Camp Paige, and Central Juvenile Halls.
Leading programming in these sites can be exceedingly challenging. Attendance is usually inconsistent. Students would rather have free time, or rec time, or anything but Advot time. These sites are on the outskirts of the county and traffic is a bitch. Not to mention the overall emotional toll it can sometimes take to work with students who have suffered severe trauma and who often have difficulty focusing or being respectful and engaged.
What I am always struck by at these sites is that, no matter who has participated up until the end and no matter what challenges the team has faced in getting them to the final sharing, when these students are met with an audience, they shine.
At Afflerbaugh, the final class involved just one kid, T.
T. shared his writing, his artwork, his reflections on forgiveness, and all that he had learned in the weeks of classes. He smiled and laughed and said “Yes, sir,” and “Yes, ma’am,” after everything we offered him. We brought him an entire pizza and box of wings to enjoy on his own, but he decided he wanted to share it with the other youth at the camp.
His heart artwork was full of names, the names of people who had loved him, supported him, nurtured him, and those who will take care of him when he gets out. The crack in his heart had his cousin’s name in it, someone who had been struck down in gang violence. T. expressed that this death has made him realize that “being part of a gang isn’t cool. They make it look like it is, but it isn’t.”
On the long drive home, my colleague Judy and I were stunned. T. had shown an incredible sense of self-awareness and bravery. Our hearts ached with the hope that he will be able to get out and never come back, that he can lean on all those people in his heart, and that he will continue to shine.
Judy mentioned how well he showed up, in the face of a handful of adults, including two he did not know. And we noted how much we poured into him so that he felt safe and emboldened to share.
She said, “We have to think of every student as if they are T.”
As we zoom through the summer and begin to put pieces in place for fall, I will remember this in our new classes.
Every student deserves our attention, love, and a chance to shine.
Every student is T.
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