Reflections: consolidating a junior youth group

This is in response to a post on Montreal Junior Youth. Essentially, their question is about consolidating junior youth groups.

The question that you (MJY) raise is interesting. We are struggling with it, to a similar degree, in my cluster as well. Several thoughts come to my mind.
As animators, we need to keep the vision that a junior youth group is about creating agents of social change. This statement is simple, but the more I think about it, the more I begin to understand how difficult a task it really is. My junior youth group, for example, has met once a week, for two years (minus the summer, when the whole planet seems to disappear). And yet, even though we have a core of say 4 junior youth that have been there since the start, they are minimally closer to being those “agents of social change”. They’ve gone through Breezes of Confirmation, Glimmerings of Hope, and are now just finishing Walking the Straight Path – and yet, no service projects have been undertaken – nothing. And it’s not for the animators not trying either. At the same time, we find these moments, when one of us is talking to a junior youth – when they start to shine… and for a minute, maybe two, we remember “ah, yes – this is what it’s all about!” So we’re learning that actually, we need to be more involved in the lives of our junior youth. We need to look at really committing ourselves to being with them 2-3 times a week. One of those days can be a junior youth group, another a children’s class, and the third perhaps a study of a topic or a night when they give a fireside… whatever – but that it’s weekly and regular.
At the same time, we’re learning the value of home visits. You know, in the back of Ruhi 3, there’s this progress chart. As a children’s class teacher, you can use that chart to track the child’s progress and then when you visit the parents, you can make very direct comments. I wonder if we shouldn’t do something similar for our junior youth. In any case, home visits are incredible for building relationships with families – and you can take the relationship from acquaintance to family in one night, I’ve found. So I definitely recommend it. And actually, when you visit the family and build that connection – attendance becomes more regular as well. Parents really love the program once they know what your goals are. We haven’t yet been able to get the parents involved in devotional gatherings or study circles, but this might just be the reality of the demographic that we’re working with… I’m not sure.
About the ratio of junior youth to animator… I’m not sure that it can be changed to 7 to 1 that easily. Maybe if your junior youth are persian Baha’is that grew up in military style homes where they sit and listen and never talk out of turn and tarof on who can comment next… (sorry, I had to) but with the junior youth that I’ve worked with, we never leave ourselves with a ratio greater than 4 to 1, and often even 2 to 1 is a lot for us. But then again, our kids live in poor social conditions. It’s normal for them to be afraid to walk home at night because of the gangs or other bullies; it’s normal for us to hear them talk about how their parents tell them that they’ll likely be in jail or pregnant by the time they’re 16; and whether the junior youth is normal, has FAS or is ADHD – it all looks pretty much the same, because of how they’ve been raised. So as animators, we find that we need to have enough of a ratio so that we can focus on those conversations that are helpful to the individual junior youth. If we had a large ratio – and the odd days, we have had this – it would be impossible for us to work with the individuals as directly, and the lesson that day, just doesn’t work, because they need and want that kind of attention. They get the cookie-cutter approach enough at school.

The reality is that, even if our work, as animators, is perfect, it’s impossible to escape one’s social environment. They might not make it out. What MJY said about situations making it tough for a junior youth to attend the group regularly is definitely true and needs to be taken into account. We need to know the people we’re serving, love them, and help them to remove obstacles. At the end of the day, I think we all need to remember that this is about them. That if we fail, it’s not we who will suffer, but them, and their children and their grandchildren.

the invisible line

well, i have my own junior youth group not too far from where i live. we have a jy group, a children’s class, and a ruhi book 1. today, i took two of my kids out – they are both in the ruhi 1, though one of them is a junior youth. we went to the local university (i wanted to show them possibilities, to show them that i think that there is no reason why they shouldn’t be in university in a few years) and then they invited me into their home. it’s a normal enough thing. i’ve known them for over 6 months now, have been in contact with the family and all that… but they consider me a “youth worker” – even though i am not a social worker, and have never told them that i was (and i’ve been trying to tell them that i’m not one too) but i guess that whatever i’m doing can best be described by them as being a “youth worker”. when i got home and told a friend of mine about my experiences during the day, she warned me to clarify that point and reminded me that youth workers do not go into the home. but as an animator – that’s exactly what we’re supposed to do, isn’t it? in ruhi 5 we learn about being a true friend and wise advisor to junior youth. but is there some wisdom in being emotionally detached from those whom we’re trying to help? i guess maybe, i’m not there to “help them” per se, i’m more there to assist in drawing out their latent abilities, and God willing, they will become animators, tutors and children’s class teachers in due course. and you can’t really do any of that without getting involved in their lives.

i guess my question is this: is there some wisdom to being detached from those we work with?

i sometimes wonder if maybe that’s the failing in social work – that they don’t get involved enough. but, from my limited understanding, i don’t think it’s logistically possible, within the scope of social services itself, to be involved as it were.

anyway, i look forward to any thoughts you might have on the topic.