Words and Guns

Last week it was hard for me to settle on something to write about because there was so much happening with our students. I had to take one of my female students outside the classroom to talk because she was simply behaving in a very disrespectful and disruptive manner. A few other of our students, both male and female, got into a fight in the hallway right after school. And one of our former students, who remains on the main campus, was shot to death as he stood in his front yard one afternoon last week. Which to leave in and which to leave out? So, I'll tie them together in the way that they fit for me.

A 15-year old girl I'll call PT, sits in the back corner of my 3rd period Biology class. Although school had only been in session for a week, she already showed up late several times. She also hadn't returned any of the parent-signed papers that were part of our beginning-of-school routine, and she also spent most of her time in class doing whatever she thought was more important than learning, usually digging in her purse for a mirror or talking to the guys around her. Last Monday, she was not doing the work and was instead practicing her stylized signature on a piece of paper and trying to hide it, and she was also chatting with the guys around her and keeping them from doing their work. On one occasion, I asked her to put her purse away and focus on the work we were doing together as a class. She refused and with quite a spiteful attitude replied that she didn't have to because it was her private property and it was none of my business what she did. Since I don't argue with students or repeat myself, I asked her to step outside the classroom to talk about what was going on and figure out what comes next, she again refused. So, I stepped into the hallway and had the Security person (our Academy has 3 patrolling our campus all of the time) and asked her to escort her from my classroom so we could have a chat. (By this time, I had also directed the students to do an activity to keep them engaged and productive while I was dealing with PT.) When I tried to talk with her, it became very clear that her habit was to interrupt me before I could finish a single sentence. In my earlier years of teaching, I would probably have become frustrated or angry, but this time I just found it to be very fascinating; I felt like an observer. When I saw that she was in no emotional state to have a discussion with, I just directed the Security person to take her to the front office to talk to the Assistant Principal. (Later I found out that PT talked the Security person into taking her to her favorite teacher's room where she spent the rest of the period, avoiding the AP entirely.) So, later that day I spoke to PT's Advisory teacher, Mrs. R, to let her know what had been happening. Here's what she told me about PT:

Though only 15-years old, she works as a receptionist and shares a room with a roommate in a house. She has "no relationship" with her Mother, who threw her out of the house several times, the last because she would bring her friends home and smoke dope in front of her Mother's other, younger children. She says she is "independent" because she has to pay for all of her own food, school supplies, clothes, and rent. When Mrs. R asked her if she was Emancipated, she didn't know what that was, but upon hearing about it, was interested in starting proceedings. Can you imagine being "independent" at 15? I can't. I think I'd be pretty pissed too if that was my life. Mrs. R had a long talk with her about her attitude toward me and my class, and let her know that I'm the type of person who everyday, gives her another new chance to succeed, and that I don't hold grudges. Fortunately, PT believed her! Then next day I spoke to her outside of class and let her know that I was aware of what' s going on in her life. I told her she was exempt from the parent-signature things until she could arrange to have an adult share the responsibilities with her. She was very friendly and open and respectful...and has been so ever since. She's since become one of my most focused students, asking questions for clarification and letting me know if she needs assistance in doing something. I can't begin to tell you how good it feels to see students make that kind of movement in their lives. There have been several times when students have made turn-arounds like that and then told me much later that they thought that if they could do it in my classroom, then they could probably do it elsewhere too. (And I get paid for this!)

Imagine walking in the door to work and seeing a lot of your co-workers or customers crying inconsolably. That's what it was like last Wednesday because our students had just learned that one of their school-mates had been shot and killed the previous afternoon as he stood in his front yard. Some gang-banger with a handgun was riding in a car, aimed the weapon and hit his target. This kid was a Junior and was not in a gang; he was just a regular kid who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. A couple of my 1st period AP Environmental Science students were so emotional that I just told them to do whatever they thought they needed to do to take care of themselves and get ready for the day ahead. One stayed out of the classroom for about 15 minutes and the other one called her Mom and asked her to pick her up and take her home. Our AP printed up an official memo announcing the event (there is a template for this type of announcement; the name and date is all that changes) and made and announcement during Advisory. We had a moment of silence, which all of the kids in my room observed with respectful silence and gravity. Since I've taught at my school, we've typically had about 2 students killed in drive-by shootings every quarter. The kids don't walk down the streets or hang outside in their neighborhoods. Nobody gets together after school at anyone's house. Hmm, it just occurred to me to wonder how these students are accounted for in our school's graduation rate. We are penalized for every student who moves away or transfers, I wonder if we're penalized for those who are murdered? These kids must either be pretty resilient or pretty numbed by this stuff. The next day, the sadness seemed to be out of their system and they were able to smile and focus on the business of life. But as I look at them I really wonder what remains inside. We offer counseling and our faculty is very active in talking to the kids one-on-one to build relationships with the kids as individuals. But once they sleep on the fact that a friend has disappeared in a punk's rite-of-passage, and awakened the next morning to their own life that seems the same as ever, where do they file that memory? What kind of world view are they building when this happens 16 times during their high school career alone?

As for the fights in the hallway, not much new there. Two "best friend" girls interested in the same guy. Two guys, not friends, interested in one of the girls. Profanity flung, fists flew, on-lookers not cheering them on, but telling them to "stop being stupid and stop fighting...save the drama for your Mama!" Fight over fast, the only thing broken was a friendship. But what came together was the student body to stop the fight. Now that's the way to end a school day!

We just learned today that it was to be a minimum day no 4th period and that we were to go to the main campus for a faculty meeting at 3:15, and that this Thursday is Back-to-School Night, which we'd need to plan, and that Friday was also a minimum day with no 3rd or 4th period. Well now that's a lot of big surprises for one day! So we as a faculty voted that since our union rules state that we must have one day's notice and an agenda of any scheduled after-school meeting, we were going to spend that time instead planning our BTS night. Our meetings are always wonders of cooperation, collegiality and productivity; we actually like meeting with each other! And, I'm thrilled to report that we got so much done we're really all looking forward to Thursday night; it's going to be focused on serving the needs of our students' parents and should be a huge success.

One thing I have to toot our horn about. My school has an abysmal dropout rate, which can easily be seen at all-school assemblies. The Freshman class occupies one side of the football stadium, the Sophs and Juniors combine to occupy the other side. We set out a few rows of chairs on the field for the shrunken Senior class. But, I am happy to report that our academy retained every single one of its Freshmen; no one dropped out, transferred back to the main campus or moved away. That is simply unheard of!!! You won't read about that in the papers, but you read it here! Now we have a great problem, we need to add another teacher to teach all of our Sophomores!

BTW, there is now a door in the hole in the back wall! No door knob, and you can still crawl through the ductwork into the other classroom, but we have quietude!