My first day of teaching Godly Play sucked like a big sucky thing that sucks rocks and lives in the far corner of the aquarium and not even the snails like it.
It was me with a group of 9 & 10 year-olds, mostly special-needs boys, and I had zero control over the situation. I read all of the GP materials again over the weekend and tried to use their methods of dealing with disruptive kids, but they don't seem to be written for cases where the vast majority of the kids are throwing things and running around and may or may not be able to stop doing that.
I just sat and cried after the class, I was so frustrated and disappointed and overwhelmed by the whole experience. I know that is lame and self-centered, because it isn't supposed to be about me at all. It just really feels like I fucked up and I can't even say where it all went wrong.
I think the fact that the Godly Play discipline plan didn't work is what really has me rattled, because I have no idea what else I could do. This is probably why parents usually teach Sunday School; at least they've developed instincts for this stuff. I, on the other hand, can't keep plants alive.
There's ongoing discussion about what we're going to do with this classroom, and I know I'll have more help and support until things improve. I'm on for storytelling for two more weeks and then I'll be off for at least three weeks. I'm going to a training next month on doing GP with older kids and with special needs kids, which should help fill in some of what's missing in the books. At least I'll be able to hear what's working for other people. The main thing I have to remember is that I'm not in this by myself, and that I don't need to come up with all the answers on my own. There's a whole team of people at St. Ned's, the kids have parents, there's the Godly Play organization, and of course Jesus shows up for class, too, and is there in the middle of it. Which is, you know, kind of the point. I'm just going to keep showing up and finding something to love about each kid.
There were a couple of really cool moments during the class, like when a couple of kids had the materials for the Creation story out and were trying to figure out what order the story goes in, and one kid was telling me all about the big bang and how God made dinosaurs and bacteria but that isn't in any of the pictures we have. I told him that we'll be talking about the Creation story next week and he can draw new pictures to put in his timeline. I'm glad the kids seemed so fired up about that story, since it may make next week easier. finds small shred of hope to cling to... link | Comments []
