I posted last week about the major project one of my co-workers and I had been planning. This week, we executed said project. I'm so proud to say it was a raging success.
We had two group of incarcerated boys participate in a day-long rhythm and movement project. We had all sorts of activities for them throughout the day, culminating in a final performance for court staff.
To say each day went well would be a giant understatement. We were warned early on about several of the boys and their likely behavioral problems, fights, etc. The boys were so in to this project that we didn't experience anything unmanageable. Sure, they were teenage boys and needed a bit of redirection at times, but I couldn't have asked for this to go any better. Staff of the juvenile detention center reported to us that following this project, they had the lowest number of behavioral incidents maybe ever and at least in a long time. WOW.
One of the things that my co-worker and I discussed after the project's completion was that our jobs are about dealing with the crimes these kids commit. Interestingly, I didn't have a clue why most of the boys were incarcerated. It was so neat to me that those things just didn't come up throughout the day- they were totally focused on the project at hand and it was as if we could all see past the crimes in their history. I want to find a way to work this in to my every day job.
We are so thankful for the boys that participated to make this project successful and so many co-workers that helped out by helping us supervise, bringing in needed items, and coming to watch the final performance. Hopefully we can do something similar to this soon. It has been way to positive to be a one-time thing.
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