Niels Bay was a teacher at the staffed playground Degnestavnens playground, where boys like Enver, who had been kicked out of other daycare centers, came every day to play football or do other sports. But not just for fun. For Niels Bay, it was about the boys learning to control their nerves and their aggression.

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Some readers may have seen the film “Pas på nerverne” ("Watch Your Nerves from 2005, but otherwise Niels Bay is not that well known outside of professional educational circles. However, if you want to understand Street Society’s work and pedagogy, Niels Bay is the key.

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Enver was one of the boys who came to Niels Bay's playground. And was, in his own words, a mess who could easily have ended up in crime. His own father was in prison and he was more or less left to himself and the streets. "Niels was the first adult we met who took us seriously and made demands," says Enver.

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“Watch your nerves,” you could often hear Niels shouting to the boys on the playground if he saw signs of them getting agitated. Niels Bay always stood on the sidelines of the sports activities with pen and paper and wrote down notes for a points system where friendly behavior gave as many or more points than nice ball details. So if you wanted to score high on the scoreboard that Niels Bay prepared and published every day, it was all about being a good boy. After a period of time, all the points are added up and then Niels gives out prizes to the best friends, the best players, the best details, etc.

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Niels took time for each child, even beyond what was actually his job description, he gave them care and hugs that they did not get at home. Niels Bay made demands on the boys and issued a towering level of ambition: he took them to museums and libraries, taught them Shakespeare, Holberg and Mozart, and rewarded them when they mastered cultural references correctly.

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Watch the film “Pas på nerverne” at www.filmcentralen.dk/alle/film/pas-pa-nerverne