I have to share the fantastic news.

backwoodsshooter said:
Well an update to this.

It’s a go. I got my schedule and I start next Monday.

Woot woot

This month has been a Charlie Foxtrot but things are a lot better than they were.
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Be prepared for those little bastards to test you. It's always fun to sit back and see how they play their games. I was imprinted on by a resident as a father figure so anything that upset him it would all be directed at me. He was a good kid taken from home because of neglect.
 
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Cowboy said:
Be prepared for those little bastards to test you. It's always fun to sit back and see how they play their games. I was imprinted on by a resident as a father figure so anything that upset him it would all be directed at me. He was a good kid taken from home because of neglect.
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Oh it’s gonna be interesting to say the least. First 2 weeks is training, and I get to get my CPR cert, and then the following week is OJT, so that’s when thinks are really gonna be interesting lol
 
backwoodsshooter said:
Oh it’s gonna be interesting to say the least. First 2 weeks is training, and I get to get my CPR cert, and then the following week is OJT, so that’s when thinks are really gonna be interesting lol
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Ahhhh, he thinks 2 weeks is training. I'll go with 2 months to get your feet under you, another 3 to get comfortable, and how ever long it takes to rotate out the kids you start with to really have a shot at getting good at it. The first group of kids tends to remember the stupid stuff you did when you got there. lol

Our groups rotated in during the school year and left at the end of the school year initially. The first group was a wash, I did some good, screwed up a lot, and averaged 2 physical restraints a week. The second group I did better with, still had too many restraints. My last year as a counselor I had one restraint, my last year at the school I had 2. It takes a while to figure out how to push kids to change without setting yourself up for getting swung on and/or seeing the kids escalating to a fight and realizing it before either of them do.

I'd be curious to know, but I bet they have gone away from single person physical restraints. We were headed that direction when I left. They are generally not as necessary as you think, and overused by new staff.
 
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chiefjason said:
Ahhhh, he thinks 2 weeks is training. I'll go with 2 months to get your feet under you, another 3 to get comfortable, and how ever long it takes to rotate out the kids you start with to really have a shot at getting good at it. The first group of kids tends to remember the stupid stuff you did when you got there. lol

Our groups rotated in during the school year and left at the end of the school year initially. The first group was a wash, I did some good, screwed up a lot, and averaged 2 physical restraints a week. The second group I did better with, still had too many restraints. My last year as a counselor I had one restraint, my last year at the school I had 2. It takes a while to figure out how to push kids to change without setting yourself up for getting swung on and/or seeing the kids escalating to a fight and realizing it before either of them do.

I'd be curious to know, but I bet they have gone away from single person physical restraints. We were headed that direction when I left. They are generally not as necessary as you think, and overused by new staff.
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Hey, this will all be new so I have no idea what to expect. This is feeling the same was when I left for basic training. But I'll be in touch with you before too long.

So far everything my ex wife's GF told me about the place, only a few things are still the same when she worked there.
 
teamglock2002 said:
Congrats BWS !! Glad things are starting to look better.
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Diverdad said:
Congratulations Backwoods, I'm really glad things are looking up for you.
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Thanks y’all. This is the main point that is going good for me.

My twitch stream is doing good which actually has done better than expected

Looking at houses

Few other things also
 
backwoodsshooter said:
Hey, this will all be new so I have no idea what to expect. This is feeling the same was when I left for basic training. But I'll be in touch with you before too long.

So far everything my ex wife's GF told me about the place, only a few things are still the same when she worked there.
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If I had to boil everything I learned into one piece of advice it's this.

Avoid power struggles with kids.

Sounds easy enough but it's very hard to do. Might want to look at these 2 things. One is geared at parents but let's be honest, you are parenting these kids in a lot of ways. The other is more clinical, I skimmed through it at it is very relevant.

How to Avoid Power Struggles with Children - Verywell Familyhttps://www.verywellfamily.com › Parenting › Discipline › Styles

How to Avoid Power Struggles | CPIhttps://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/April-2016/How-to-Avoid-Power-Struggles

The main reason you want to avoid power struggles is that with the population you will work with they only end in one of 3 ways.

1- The kid gives in and does what they are told. Yeah, right. Those kids don't come to work with you do they?
2- The adult gives in and the kid wins. There goes your authority and respect in the group. And this is what they have been doing to their parents for year so they are VERY good at it.
3- Physical violence with the strongest person winning. There goes your relationship with the kid and depending on why the respect of the group.

Don't get me wrong, you don't give up authority by avoiding power struggles. You retain your authority by finding ways to get what you want and guide their behavior WITHOUT power struggles. And in some cases, more importantly than gaining authority, you gain respect. Without respect, the kids just don't listen to you.
 
chiefjason said:
If I had to boil everything I learned into one piece of advice it's this.

Avoid power struggles with kids.

Sounds easy enough but it's very hard to do. Might want to look at these 2 things. One is geared at parents but let's be honest, you are parenting these kids in a lot of ways. The other is more clinical, I skimmed through it at it is very relevant.

How to Avoid Power Struggles with Children - Verywell Familyhttps://www.verywellfamily.com › Parenting › Discipline › Styles

How to Avoid Power Struggles | CPIhttps://www.crisisprevention.com/Blog/April-2016/How-to-Avoid-Power-Struggles

The main reason you want to avoid power struggles is that with the population you will work with they only end in one of 3 ways.

1- The kid gives in and does what they are told. Yeah, right. Those kids don't come to work with you do they?
2- The adult gives in and the kid wins. There goes your authority and respect in the group. And this is what they have been doing to their parents for year so they are VERY good at it.
3- Physical violence with the strongest person winning. There goes your relationship with the kid and depending on why the respect of the group.

Don't get me wrong, you don't give up authority by avoiding power struggles. You retain your authority by finding ways to get what you want and guide their behavior WITHOUT power struggles. And in some cases, more importantly than gaining authority, you gain respect. Without respect, the kids just don't listen to you.
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Thank you, after reading through, for the most part I think that I apply that already to MY kid. Applying it to youths, that’s gonna be a different pig.

But I’ll be reading through that a few more times or more.
 
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