| "Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots--but you have to play the ball where it lies." -Bobby Jones
One of the greatest joys The Joy House staff get to experience is when we are able to help a resident excel in something he/she is passionate about. It is part of The Joy House program to help our residents find healthy activities and hobbies they can develop during their time with us. Many of these hobbies stay with these teens for the rest of their lives. Some residents come to us already knowing what they love. Such is the case with Wyatt Goodwin.
When Wyatt arrived at the Boy's home in October of 2019, one of his first requests was to bring his pitching wedge and net to practice on our beautiful campus. It was obvious from the start that Wyatt saw golf as something more than just a sport. During one of Wyatt's first weeks here, The Joy House hosted its annual golf tournament. All day long Wyatt never lost his smile. He was in his element. He began to have a great conversation with a few of the men who were playing...and even gave the men a few welcoming tips! As he looked at the course and walked the greens that day we could all see that there was no other place Wyatt would rather be. He was at home.
Just before the beginning of this summer, Ron Rucker, the Director of Education for The Joy House, had a very important conversation with Wyatt. Ron noticed that Wyatt needed some motivation and an incentive to keep up the progress he had been making at The Joy House. Ron asked Wyatt what he really wanted in life...what was Wyatt really interested in? The answer was simple...Wyatt wanted to ply golf.
Since that pivotal conversation, The Joy House staff has tried to find ways to integrate golf into the program for Wyatt. It started with Wyatt's playing one nine-hole round of golf a week on Thursdays with Ron and three other church pastors and leaders from the community. Wyatt has come to love these men and is grateful for investment they have made in him. Now, Wyatt is working on his golf fame three days a week at the Bent Tree Golf Course. The course professionals at Bent Tree have taken Wyatt under their wing and want to see him improve with every swing. They have been blown away by his skill and natural talent for the game. Wyatt and The Joy House are so grateful to Russell Smith and Bob Gracey at Bent tree for investing in our residents.
Notice the Bobby Jones quote from above. For Wyatt this has not just been about golf. From the moment golf was integrated into his program many things for Wyatt began to improve. Wyatt was an able but relatively unmotivated student before, but we have seen him vastly improve in school, both in his grades and production of work. He is receiving a school elective credit and an actual grade for is efforts in golf. His relationship within the house and with other residence has improved and his outlook and attitude towards himself has improved too. Wyatt's relationship with his father and mother has taken a huge turn for the better. Finally and most importantly , Wyatt has grown in his relationship with God during this time. Wyatt talks about being committed to Jesus and his desire to serve his church. Bobby Jones was right; you must play the ball where it lies. Wyatt has played the ball well right here at The Joy House! We are so very proud of him. |
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I love how The Joy House Academy classroom is structured. Students sit in their cubicles and work in their individual PACE workbooks. To stay on track for their grade level, they have 15 days from the time each workbook is issued to complete it and take the test. They read information or instructions, and then they answer questions or work problems over the material. Intermittently, they go to the score table to score their work. A new student recently commented, "That's a lot of trust". Indeed, it is. As I told him, it is in a students best interest to score correctly. First, if a student fails to score correctly, he is likely to fail the test in the end because he will have either not learned anything OR studied incorrect information. Also, once a student takes the test, he turns in the workbook, and the teachers then recheck it to see that there are no scoring violations; if there are discipline follows.
It is hard to believe, but some students do not always have their best interest in mind. They try to find ways to circumvent the actual work and education to speed up the process. Often, they become what I call "answer hunters". They do not read the material; they just go directly to the questions, hunt the answers, and keep it moving. Sometimes they decide that they do not have the time to score their work; after all, say their egos, all the answers are probably right. Sometimes, when the answer hunting doesn't work, they just go to the score key and memorize the answer they couldn't find. Their brains have fed them erroneous information: they believe that they do not have time to do the work correctly, and that they will save time if they just hunt answers or memorize them from the answer key.
If they follow this process, a relatively predictable course follows: (1) they fail the test and have to redo the workbook, thus, not saving any time at all, but actually taking MORE time; (2) when their workbooks are checked and multiple scoring violations are discovered, they receive discipline. After a few experiences with failure, repeating workbooks, and receiving discipline, students usually accept that their way is not working, and they begin to accept the fact that success requires hard work and time. Usually.
Christina was a student when I first got here who did not accept that fact. Again and again in physical science she failed tests and redid workbooks and received discipline for scoring violations. Sometimes she even made up answers to fill in the blanks so that she could "complete" her pages for the day. Finally one day I had the good sense to ask "Why, Christina, why?! She just stared at me. No answer. And then I guess the Lord sent an epiphany; I asked, "Is it hard?" Again the stare. I said, "Here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to take the workbook home with me this weekend and do the work in it, to find out whether it' s hard or whether you're just being lazy."
On Monday morning, after the students filed in and settled down, I called Christiana's name. She turned around. I held up the workbook and said, "Guess what, Christina? It's HARD!" No stare this time. This time, I got a smile.
What I discovered in that workbook was that, just as in math, the terms were intimidating, the examples were complicated, and the volume of new information was overwhelming. Christina and I worked through physical science--together. We struggled to understand and complained about and laughed at our difficulties. And something really exciting happened. She became competitive; she wanted to make a higher grade on the test than I did. Sometimes she actually achieved that goal! Something even better happened, though. She discovered that she could do science. The scoring violations stopped, and the learning started.
I came here as a teacher, and I cannot tell you how much I love it. The great bonus is how God is teaching me. With Christina and others, He has taught me that sometimes students cheat not because they are lazy, and not because they lack character, and not because they don't care, but because they just don't think they can succeed any other way. It has been such a blessing to show them a TRUE way to succeed and see them take it. I have a hope that every step they take in that way helps to point them in the direction of The Way. |
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We are looking forward to being on the beautiful Bent Tree Golf Course in just under two weeks for our annual golf tournament. This will be a great day of food, fellowship, fun and competition to make a difference in the lives of those we serve. We still have spots for a couple of teams if you would still like to enter a team into this year's events. It is also not too late to become a Hole Sponsor.
We would like to recognize our high-level sponsors. Special thanks to Southeast Restoration Group for being our Presenting Sponsor. We are also grateful for these other high level Sponsors: Flag Sponsor-NJ Wilbanks Contractor and North Georgia Christian Academy, Putting Contest Sponsor-DayStar Apparel, and Bag Sponsor- Kiker Wealth Management.
Please be in prayer for this special day. We will look forward to giving a full report on the golf tournament in next month's E-news.
Included is a link to all the sponsorship\registration information.
https://thejoyhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-Golf-Tourney-Info.pdf
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| | The Joy House is currently seeking a married couple to be full-time houseparents in our girl’s home. No prior experience is needed, as training will be provided. The couple must have a strong desire to share Christ’s love with the teens and their families. Applicants must be married at least 3 years with no more than 2 children of their own. While modeling a Christian family, we ask the houseparents to provide care, nurturing, and structure for up to seven teen girls. They are supported by a five-person treatment team all focused on helping one another serve the teen and family in need.
To apply, candidates should email their resumes with a cover letter to Steve Lowe, Executive Director, and he will contact you. |
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