Meet this group of 5th grade boys. Mischievous, insecure, wild, and full of trouble are all ways to describe them. They're the group of boys everyone hates, yet for some reason, wants to be like. They test their teachers, draw attention to themselves in class, cuss in Spanish, and put on a tough guy act anyone can read through. Each one by themselves has their unique traits that make them special. But, anytime you put them in a group together (which is usually the way you'll find them) the outcome is toxic.
This past week was no different. After a long series of events, the news spilled out that this group of boys had been selling, trading, and bringing weapons to school with them. I'm not talking about swiss army knives. I'm talking switchblades, guns, pepper spray, slingshots, you name it, it's been in my room........w-i-t-h-o-u-t me knowing. Not only that, they have been drinking on the weekends and bringing in porn on their I-phones. And they're 11.
Before I had the chance to say "what the hell were you thinking?" this group of boys were called down to the office and asked to leave the school. While one was asked to leave permanantly, the two in my class were suspended and are due to come back this Monday.
My heart broke when I heard this news. Here I am trying to teach my kids about Christopher Columbus when they are bringing weapons into school and dealing with issues not even grown men should have to handle. I could rant on and on about the warning signs and the lack of parental supervision, but the bottom line is, it happened. All day today, I've been trying to think of a positive way to integrate these two boys back into my classroom. I mean really, how do you do this? This community is small and rumors fly faster than a tidal wave. Not only have these boys hurt themselves, this community will forever stamp them as "those boys." As a teacher, what do I do? Personal feelings aside ( gosh, I'm disappointed in them) I want them to be able to take these next three weeks and still be able to finish out strong. Is this possible?
Uggh, its been a hard week.
1 comment:
wow, Hannah. that is really tough. I've been in a few situations that were traumatic like that, where you have to reintegrate kids into a group. Luckily, in both circumstances I had an amazing staff of people I could rally to be positive role models for the whole group of students. I also had very talented, well trained people who were able to talk it out with the kids who were the perps (school counselor-types). Bottom line, we all recognized that people make mistakes, and that it's not our place to judge. And then we focus on recreating a safe environment and we move on. Kids are resilient, and they'll look up to you.
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