Knowing your youth is more than...

It is not just knowing obvious things such as who the troublemakers are or who has one parent or who reads poorly. It means knowing their quirks. I have many times had youth that would let loose with unnecessary negative comments: This is dumb, I don't like this group, I don't want to do this, you're mean... Some might have interpreted this comments as being a result of deep seated neurosis. Most youth workers would take the comments personally and negatively, perhaps setting up a split between the two. However, often the youth didn't mean anything by the comments. They were tired, frustrated and cranky and spoke without thought. When I would repeat what they had said, they were horrified and retracted it immediately. (My wife has had the same experience in public high school classes.)