My family and other beasts of the world

A couple of quickies then onto the meat.

My gorgeous clever daughter has a blog of her own (spreading the geek around) it can be found

here

My partner in crime and other activities has a website with gigs etc on it (spreading the jazz geekness too)

here

I am immensely proud of both of them and thought I would share.

Now.........

I come from a small family that despite occasional moments of brain fartedness (on my part) are very tight knit and extremely loving and supportive.It is such an honour to have people actually know what you're like and still love and back you up even when you behave badly. Some people I call family are not even related by blood but by care,concern and a shared affection.

But that's how families should work.........but sometimes not.

Many of the young people I work with have less than supportive families, for all sorts of reasons that may or may not relate to them as individuals. Nevertheless I am struck with the knowledge that teenagers can be hard to tolerate for many parents and families but surely this is the time that the most patience and love is required. Teachers have a role to play that cannot be underestimated, I am often the only adult that a young person feels able to talk to about their concerns academic or social.

I find the emotional weight of this difficult to manage, however I am learning that I must be their teacher and not their parent, despite my overwhelming urge to take them home, feed them (because I must feed everyone) and make them feel safe until such time as they can see their own untapped potential for awesomeness or even just stability.

Boundary management is not just the purvey of teachers but also health professionals and anyone else that gets to see the vulnerable belly of our society exposed. My current dilemma is how to do it and still care enough to help but maintain my own emotional integrity and energies for my family...?