I've never been in a room, house, or camp, where there wasn't a full cast of characters- And I don't mean students, participants, or campers either. We work in a field that draws us to be emotionally complex people, able to act and sing and dance on a moment's notice. Certain people get drawn to that. In a world where "Everyone has Special Needs", some of 'everyone' still find those of us who choose to work here a bit eccentric.
Why are you looking at me like that? Something stuck in my teeth?
Work can be a stressful environment, especially when you're working between a number of participants who are being watched by a number of staff. Something goes wrong, and no matter how well the situation gets taken care of, there's some emotional residue that goes with it. After a long week, you have a powder keg of people who feel resentment, frustration, exhaustion, or conversely, gratitude and appreciation for those people who helped us get through something tough. These tough segments drive people together and drive people apart. At the end of the day, it's hard to call your coworkers enemies, friends, or simply acquaintances. These are complicated relationships with complicated people who are stuck together.
In short, they're family. You've got your brothers and sisters, older and younger. You've got a weird uncle or two, and your friendly grandpa figures. And when you fit in, you feel safe. And when you don't... Well...
But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let me introduce you to your Weird Other Family:
HBIC:
I swear, I didn't make this name up. The honor of that privilege goes to an old friend of mine who taught me right from left when I was just starting. She used this term to describe herself. It stands for Head Bitch In Charge. Some of you are probably raising an eyebrow and asking "WTF mate?". Then there's a small group of you with a side grin who just chuckled and said "Yeap."
HBICs are typically ladies who have strong, outgoing personalities. They're veterans who have seen the organization change, and have gotten tired of trying to hide how they feel about it, or you, or pretty much anything. You know, if they had tried to hide that before. They can take anything that comes their way, and with as little as a look can turn a crisis into a "sorry ma'am". They're some of the most dedicated advocates of our guys, and they'll let nothing stand in their way to getting what is right and fair for them.
HBICs also serve as the barrier between the 'in group', and the 'not so in group'. They make it very clear who they consider to care for the participants, and who is incompetent, lazy, or outright harmful. Through this function, they create a culture of solidarity and consideration, because no one wants to be on an HBIC's bad side.
Life of the Party:
Every job has its share of Weekend Warriors, and this job is no different. They're the first person to start counting down to Friday, or to Spring Break, or to whenever it's time to not be at work. Because someone's gonna get crunk this weekend. They know every sports statistic, and fluidly are able to work their way into conversations revolving around basketball, hockey, baseball, football...
Of course, this wouldn't be interesting if it was just a stereotype that transcends job boundaries. The cool thing about the guy (traditionally) who is The Life of the Party, is that they just don't give a fuck about acting. They've got this swagger that's sort of like The Fonz, mixed with anything more relevant than The Fonz. They don't tap dance around participants, so participants realize this guy is the shit, and they focus on trying to impress them. They tend to get along with guys who really care about how they're viewed socially, and go out of their way to be perceived as masculine.
The Pretty Girl:
While times are changing, and gender roles are as flexible as those old Stretch Armstrong guys, Special Needs and education still are viewed as primarily female fields of interest. Consequently, many young ladies, fresh out of college, go out of their way to join organizations that work with people with special needs.
The pretty girl is the darling of the workplace, the person who all the young men, student and staff alike, spend an uncommonly large amount of time around. This gets to be frustrating, usually, for this person, who tends to be the first one who realizes that people are revolving around them mostly out of superficial concern. However, since these are often the only people that actually PLANNED on going into this line of work, they're usually quite trained and capable. Balancing between being a trained expert, and being an unintended figurehead, they usually end up being rather humble and worldly, having to have a rather thick skin to deal with all the bullshit.
Chatting Cathy and Talking Timmy:
Occasionally a staff member talks a good bit. Other staff members gossip about getting trapped into never ending conversations. Teachers have meetings, and then reminder meetings, about not using the cellphone for personal reasons during the day, and limiting verbal cues. But somehow the message never really quite gets through.
There's nothing wrong with a talkative staff member, in my personal opinion, though the grape vine might tell a different story. Usually this person is the best person to come to when you yourself need to talk about something on your mind.
Yet, because of the proclivity towards talking there are some pitfalls for a CC/TT to keep an eye for:
1) Make sure your cellphone time isn't causing you to ignore your charge. I'm not going to say that I endorse making personal calls during work, but if you're going to, make sure that you remember to keep an eye on what you're doing. I can't tell you how many crises could have been averted if the person in charge of the AOP had simply been paying attention to their charge.
2) Learn to notice anxiety and cut verbal cues that may be leading a person to acting out. How can I tell a person to stop doing what they're naturally brought to do, in this field? It may not be the prime teaching technique for all cases, but some students really benefit from having single-sided conversations. But if you're prone to talking, make sure you're not on the path to setting someone off, and if you are, make sure to learn how to limit your verbals when you need to.
No comments:
Post a Comment