121 continues to be a growing experience for all of us. Just as we think things are moving in one direction, things change and we find ourselves being stretched into something new. These past few months have held some wonderful ups but also some unexpected downs that we don’t always know how to process. But again and again we are assured of God’s guidance and leading.
New Facilitators on Board
In May we spoke about our detention program at a local church and got eight university students on board to help as facilitators in our detention program. This brought our team to a total of twelve. Between May and September we had two fantastic terms of detention at Pretoria North and Clapham High Schools. It was a good time of growing our team and sharpening our program. Over the past few months we can really see a change in the way we have learnt to handle some very challenging situations with patience and grace!
Alternative Ways to Discipline
One of the lessons we’ve been learning is how to respond to discipline challenges with firmness and love. We don’t want learners to walk all over us but not do we want to be cruel and unkind to people who have been created by a God who loves them and wants to draw them back to Him. In struggling to strike this balance, we’ve learnt so much about alternative ways to achieve a positive atmosphere in a classroom without needing to raise our voices or lose control.
Red Alert Program
We ran a Red Alert program (a three-week program for learners that repeatedly attend detention) with six learners in August which was really successful. Our facilitators felt they really could engage with the learners on a meaningful level and we saw real life change taking place.
Time and again we realize that our program is not a quick-fix solution but something that goes much further and deeper. We have learners returning to detention repeatedly who at first challenge our authority at every turn, disrupting the program in every way they can. But after a few weeks we start seeing a change in them. They start looking at us differently, seeing us as someone worth respecting rather than to opposing. They start listening to what we have to say, and begin to grapple with the issues we place before them.
Losing and Gaining Schools
One of the major downs that we’ve experienced is that Clapham High has decided to end their relationship with us. This was an enormous blow as we felt we were making good progress there and found the school a fantastic learning ground for our facilitators. The school felt, though, that they wanted a more aggressive approach to discipline. We’ve been marketing our program to new schools and trust that other doors will open.
A Stretching Experience
From the very beginning, 121 has been an organization that has stretched the faith and character of each of us that have been involved. We’ve been stretched tremendously on the strategic and managerial side, having to learn to let go a lot of our own ideas so that God’s plan can take place. We’ve also been stretched significantly in the classroom where our weaknesses are sometimes ruthlessly exposed by teenagers testing our resolve! In all of this, we have found God to be faithful, and to work all things for the good in ways we could not have imagined!
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