I want to work for the Family Violence Prevention Fund!

http://endabuse.org/

I used to volunteer for Break the Cycle, a non-profit organization in Los Angeles that provided pro-bono legal services for women dealing with domestic abuse, and which also provided educational services to educate teens about what abuse is (physical, sexual, emotional). I was really disappointed because they only let the lawyers do the classroom presentations and I really wanted to work directly with the kids. But they let me run our booth at local events and I got to recruit high school interns and talk to people about what we did so that was okay. But I would rather work directly with educating and interacting with young people.

Over the years that I tutored high school kids for the SAT, I would go into their homes and really observe some of the things that go on behind closed doors. You really see a lot of things, both inspiring and appalling. I would always spend some extra time after sessions talking to my students, not just encouraging them to pursue their dreams and to stay strong through the difficulties because life gets better, but to let them know that they have an older supportive ally who would listen and be understanding, which many of them didn't have in their lives. And those times were some of the most rewarding of my life.

Since I quit that job only months ago and am not allowed by contract to do SAT work for a year, I have to wait on this but what I would love to do is start a non-profit organization that provides not just academic tutoring but specifically, SAT prep for underpriveleged students. Most high school students prep for the SAT these days, pushing up average scores and it's not fair to kids who can't afford SAT prep. I want to level the playing field. Because I taught some kids whose parents were filthy rich and these kids just wouldn't give a damn about anything, and I taught kids whose parents had scrapped together money to get them prep so they could compete for college. Some of my favorite students were in this latter group because they were motivated, good kids and you could just tell that they had the heart, drive and personal integrity to one day become amazing adults and productive contributors to society.

Someone once asked me if I thought that the problem with America is that we have too much freedom. I answered, "Yes." But the problem specifically, is that we have too much freedom, and too little guidance. Good leadership is not only about making good decisions, but about guidance--letting the people you are leading understand where they are going, who they are becoming, what they want and how they can realize their potential. It is about helping those people make their own internal connections, not laying things down as absolutes that they need to follow, ignoring the fact that they may not understand.

My example is always this: As a parent, you don't want your child to feel any pain. So you will tell him, don't touch a hot stove. Now remember, a child's #1 question is always going to be...why? Because he has NO IDEA WHY and needs everything explained to him because this is how he grows, and we, as adults, must understand this and have the utmost patience to explain in an open, gentle manner. Ultimately, it doesn't do anything to set rules and limitations. You have to make sure that the child understands why it would be to his benefit not to do certain things (ie touching a hot stove is very painful), even though, sometimes these experiences will still need to be experienced first hand to be truly understood.

This is what I always thought the problem with religion was. Dogmatic rules and regulations but to be honest, often religions evolved to not be so much about spiritual guidance, but about power struggles and domination against other competing groups (not to mention the political ties and motivations). It's bullshit.

Every person needs to understand why he should be a good person, who he is and what he wants to bring to the world and to himself, not to just be told. The fact that people have become so complacent in general has much to do with the fact that society has structured itself in a way that a small percentage is dominant and omnipotent just because, and thus, the rest must accept. People get lost along the way because there's no guidance in dominance. There's no guidance in having power. Power is selfish. Good leadership has nothing to do with power. Leadership is an unselfish responsibility. And if a person lives in a community where he can chose his leader, he must also be cognizant of this concept, and that it's imperative that we chose a leader who understands that the basic tenet of leadership is the ability and understanding to guide magnanimously.

But I digress.

I would like to start a non-profit which provides SAT prep as well as gives the youth a safe, accepting place to find psychological and emotional support as well as healthy guidance. A place where everyone walks through the door as a human being, and will treat others and be treated respectfully as human beings. And with education about dating and family abuse because there is so much more of it out there than people realize. Break this fucking cycle and get these kids into college!

Oh, this is a really cool teen center in San Diego:

http://www.epicentre.org/home.html

It uses art, music, creativity, etc. to bring kids together. I want to do something like that. So how much do you think it would cost?