(no subject)
There are always exceptions, and there are always people who will not get out of something what you wish they would. Not every activity is going to be a fit for every child. This includes roller derby.
I love junior roller derby. I have a passion for it because I have seen what it can do for a lot kids. I have seen the scared ones grow in confidence and use that confidence to great success. I have seen outcast gain a family in derby, and I have seen the community rally in some very awesome ways.
Unfortunately, there is also the other side. A lot of people don't like to talk about it, or try to push it under the rug. There are those whose experience in roller derby, whether junior or adult, ends in tears.
While president a SDB, I saw several girls quit in tears. Some of them were extremely strong kids, very good skaters who worked hard and just couldn't fit within the structure being set up around them. My daughter was one of those kids. She loved roller derby, loved the friends she had, loved the skating, and above all loved to play. She just had external issues which led her to have some behaviors which made her a bad fit for SDB.
I promised myself and her right then and there that I would try to build a place which was going to be welcoming of all children, no matter what their issues. We would welcome them, teach them, and give them the space and time each one needs to get to where they choose to be. No one would be yelled at or ridiculed for needing a little time to recover mentally when they had what they viewed as a failure, or had some pain from the last exercise. Yelling encouragement is good. Yelling disparagement is not.
Encourage, not demand.
Every child would have the forum to discuss issues they have, and should be listened to. They should have a hand in how their league is shaped, and they should be able to speak up without fear of retribution if they feel something is wrong. Every child has value.
Build up, not break down.
It is these values that I strive to bring into everything SJRD does.
I love junior roller derby. I have a passion for it because I have seen what it can do for a lot kids. I have seen the scared ones grow in confidence and use that confidence to great success. I have seen outcast gain a family in derby, and I have seen the community rally in some very awesome ways.
Unfortunately, there is also the other side. A lot of people don't like to talk about it, or try to push it under the rug. There are those whose experience in roller derby, whether junior or adult, ends in tears.
While president a SDB, I saw several girls quit in tears. Some of them were extremely strong kids, very good skaters who worked hard and just couldn't fit within the structure being set up around them. My daughter was one of those kids. She loved roller derby, loved the friends she had, loved the skating, and above all loved to play. She just had external issues which led her to have some behaviors which made her a bad fit for SDB.
I promised myself and her right then and there that I would try to build a place which was going to be welcoming of all children, no matter what their issues. We would welcome them, teach them, and give them the space and time each one needs to get to where they choose to be. No one would be yelled at or ridiculed for needing a little time to recover mentally when they had what they viewed as a failure, or had some pain from the last exercise. Yelling encouragement is good. Yelling disparagement is not.
Encourage, not demand.
Every child would have the forum to discuss issues they have, and should be listened to. They should have a hand in how their league is shaped, and they should be able to speak up without fear of retribution if they feel something is wrong. Every child has value.
Build up, not break down.
It is these values that I strive to bring into everything SJRD does.