Hard Work
As I sit here in Campbellsville, KY for the second week in a row, I am struck by the hard work I see going on around me. You see, I have the opportunity to train police officers to teach the D.A.R.E. curriculum. These 14 officers, provided they complete the training, will return to their communities to teach children. This is one of the more professionally satisfying things that I get to do in a given year. But, it is not easy. It is two weeks of 12-14 hour days to walk these very capable police officers through the process of becoming one who can connect with and teach kids.
You see, these officers have been trained their entire careers to take emotion out of what they do. They develop a “muscle memory” that when the uniform goes on, the emotions go away. This could save their lives if they are confronted with someone who is trying to hurt them or someone else, but it doesn’t translate well into the classroom. Kids need to see the heart that is hidden behind their badge. The old saying rings true with kids, “they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”.
It excites me and motivates me every year to see officers come to D.A.R.E. training expecting it to just be “another police training” where they can show up, try to stay awake, and be given a certificate at the end. They realize very quickly that this is not that kind of training, and they rise to the challenge! I love watching them realize they are capable of more than they thought. They are able, with hard work, to be the “Hero” that their future D.A.R.E. kids will think they are as soon as they walk through the door for lesson 1!
The really cool thing is that these officers realize about halfway through week two that they are actually capable of doing all the things that we have asked them to do. They live UP to our very high expectations for them! And, my prayer, is that they will set equally high expectations for their D.A.R.E. kids.
I have found, that D.A.R.E. officer candidates are a lot like the 5th and 7th grade students they will get to teach. They all will work harder than they have ever worked to live UP to the expectations that are set for them. Unfortunately, however, the opposite is also true…kids and adults alike, will also live DOWN to expectations if they are not set high enough.
So, what expectations have you set for the kids in your life? Are they forcing the kids you come in contact with to push themselves to be better? Or, can they just cruise through life and meet your expectations without really trying? Because, I believe, if you are the HERO you are capable of being, they will strive to live up to your high expectations. Because, in the end, they are looking for heroes! And, I get the joy of watching heroes work HARD to positively impact your kids!
What are you capable of?
