Is Awesome.
I've been working at the Boys and Girls Club for just over a week and I love it. In the mornings I help the Executive Director with administrative stuff. So far it's nothing I can't handle and he's very appreciative. The rest of the staff are also nice and relatively laid-back. I think I'm the only new staff in some time, so everyone else knows very well what they're doing and they're a great support system.
In the afternoons I help watch the kids, and I love it. They're good kids.
My first day I had a kid disobey me directly; the site supervisor pulled the kid aside and the three of us talked, and the kid has been no trouble since. On the contrary, he sits at my office desk to do his homework and keeps asking me to play him in pool. And since that first day no other kid has directly disobeyed me. Sure, I have to repeat myself ALL THE TIME but once I get a Tone I don't seem to have any problem.
Meanwhile there are many kids who seem to like me quite a lot. My desk is right out in the main rec room, as opposed to in an office or in a separate room like the library. Frankly I really like it that way. I get to see the kids more and they feel free to walk up to my "office" and sit and chat with me.
My desk is also directly outside the computer room, so I am typically in charge of rotating the kids out of the 10 or so computers every 15 minutes. They know the drill really well, and often at the 12th or 13th minute they will leave their computers early to try to get in the wait line first and get a double turn. Today I began using computer time as a bribe, and it worked fantastically. I offered four boys the chance to have two 15-minute shifts in a row if they picked up all the litter on the playground (juice boxes and granola wrappers from snack time, mainly). They jumped at the chance and were remarkably meticulous. I'm pretty sure the word of this new system will spread fast and people will be asking me if they can pick up trash by tomorrow. :)
I love helping the kids with their homework. There are way too many kids for me to help them all so it's the one's who seek me out who get help, and it's pretty pleasant working with kids who really do want to do their homework. Plus it gives me more of a chance to talk to them.
I know it's a bit early for me to decide definitively how I feel about this job, but so far I just completely love it. I'm still going to grad school and everything, but this was a great decision for the interim.
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