How to Bring up a Responsible Citizen

By Kathy In Citizenship On September 8, 2014

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When I’m working with a student, sewing a stuffed animal or dealing with a misdemeanor, a casual observer might not realize that I have much longer range goals then simply getting through the challenges of the present. Here is the Story of Al, the Miscreant.

Al injected green water-color liquid into our computer keyboard. I told him he needed to dry it out right away. If it stopped working, I added, he’d have to pay me for it. The next day I tried typing and a series of symbols appeared  that looked like swear words in a comic speech balloon! I was going to have to follow through.

Following through is a big part of my job.

Following through means to be true to my word. Another big part of my job is to guide children toward becoming responsible adults. Al is my challenge. He knows the ground rules, although he may not always remember them. When an adult makes a mistake, commits a crime, or has an accident, we expect him or her to make reparations. My goal is to be fair while teaching Al what it’s like to be an honorable adult. This can’t be accomplished with punishment. I have to devise a way to give Al choices, but make no compromise; he must compensate me for what he has done.

Meanwhile I have weekday classes between the Saturday classes that Al attends, so I’ve had to replace the keyboard. I know Al can’t simply pay me. If he can fix the non-working keyboard, I’ll call us even. I know this is very unlikely but not being able to fix it will give Al information about his own abilities. He’ll also get to explore the extent of what he did. And, of course, the best scenario would be that he is able to fix the keyboard and I can keep the new one as a backup. He’ll have experienced success and learned a little more about computers, and we’ll have discovered a new potential in Al.

If he can’t fix it or chooses not to, he will have to work off the money he owes by staying after class and helping to clean up the studio. I’ll pay him $5 an hour, so in about six weeks I’ll be compensated. By working alongside my assistant and me, he’ll see me and our program from another viewpoint. I’ll have an opportunity to get to know him in another way as well. He’ll come to know part of the job assistants do. It can give him a glimpse of that potential for himself and help him set goals for his own future.

I’ve spoken to his guardian, she’s assured me the she and her husband will back me up.

To be continued.

~Kathy Anderson

 

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