Where I spent the Millennium's turn - Buddhist Peace Pagoda, Thailand
Back in 1992, after graduating in psychology and management studies from Leeds University I had a long, hard think about what kind of work I actually wanted to do.
I had a very strong sense of wanting to work with children and young people and help them in some way. I also knew I DIDN'T want to be a teacher or social worker because the admin., bureaucracy and stress involved (even back then) just didn't seem like what I wanted to be part of.
So my 'foot-in-the-door' was as a teaching assistant at a Leeds primary school, along with providing respite care for the family of an autistic boy and some unqualified youth work. I went on to be a 'houseparent' at a residential special school, an 'inclusion officer' supporting excluded pupils back into education and an individual support worker for social services, working 1-1 with kids at risk of being placed in care.
By the turn of the century I was getting frustrated... with "the system" and with the attitudes of many of the disaffected teenagers I was trying to support. I took a career break, went travelling for several months and returned with a more positive outlook and a strong wish to be a writer for young people.
From 2001 to 2006 I was employed as a 'learning mentor' at a primary school in South Leeds, which gradually opened my eyes to the value of doing positive personal development work with kids at an early point in their lives. Over five years I got to know almost all the children in the school by name. I ran reading groups, circle times, I.C.T. sessions, gardening, football and other after-school clubs all of which gave them a chance to socialise and express themselves.I saw how they responded to praise and encouragement, how they enjoyed the status of being given small jobs and responsibilities, how they thrived through speaking and listening games which nurtured their confidence and social skills.
For personal reasons (I'll tell you later on) I moved back to my hometown of Wolverhampton in 2007 and found work as a participation officer' with the city council, offering support to 75 primary schools across the city with setting up and developing their children's school councils. This was a great experience because it brought me into contact with more able and confident children, rather than the predominantly 'challenging' or 'underachieving' pupils I'd worked with previously.
I visited schools, helped set up projects (such as charity fundraising or internet-safety campaigns) and held termly city-wide conferences for school councillors from across the city to get together and talk about issues that were important to them.
I was pretty gutted when coalition cuts meant the funding was withdrawn from that project and I was made redundant in Spring 2011. But I soon realised that it was now time to really use all the experience I had gained, re-focus on my writing endeavours and find the new approach to enhancing young people's learning and development that I felt certain was needed.
After a few months of study and research I came across the concept of 'life coaching' or 'success coaching' which has become a big business in America over recent years, especially in the private sector. That fit perfectly with the service I felt I wanted to provide - and that's what led to the concept of 'Youth Coaching.'
So a 'Youth Coach' is someone who offers positive guidance, support and inspiration to kids. Someone who talks to young people (rather than at them), who listens and responds to young people's reality. Someone who helps children to believe in themselves and the power of their potential.
But while I have a wealth of material waiting to be shared and discussed, the process of turning my words and ideas into a marketable and successful enterprise is still in development, so this blog will be a record of my progress.
I don't claim to have 'all the answers' and nor would I claim that youth coaching will be a substitute for teaching in schools. But what is clear to me is that something definitely isn't working in the current education system.
Many teachers are demoralised, the curriculum seems heavily focused on exams at the expense of skills and development, and thousands of children are still coming out of a decade attending school with nothing to show for it but a negative, demoralised attitude.
I believe that it isn't the children who have failed at school - it is the schools which have failed the children. And we can't carry on thinking that this state of affairs is acceptable: there MUST be a better way!
Thanks for reading! Comments, support (and constructive criticism) are all welcome...
See you next time,
Joe
A 'Youth Coach' is someone who offers positive guidance, support and inspiration to kids. Someone who talks to young people (rather than at them), who listens and responds to young people's reality. Someone who helps children to believe in themselves and the power of their potential.