It’s official…I now have a student in jail. I don’t think there really is any more subtle way to state that. I never thought it would happen honestly. This isn’t a great area, but middle school students getting arrested is pretty rare. He put a student up against the wall and was choking him, while punching him in the stomach.
Sometimes, as a teacher, you have visions of giving a kid a whap. You dream of that one discipline problem getting sent to the alternative center or being extracted to another class. But there are some kids that, though they might act up, you take those 5 extra minutes to calm them down, instead of blowing up at them. This student is special ed and acts like a 5 year old, but his mother is a nightmare and his dad could care less about him. The other kids are always making fun of him. His mom actually said in a meeting, “Just send him to alternative. I don’t want him. He wants to go move in with a foster family, let him.” If you’ve got a home life like that, why wouldn’t you act out/ It doesn’t make it right, but if you’re not getting understanding from anyone, how are you going to vent any other way?
Have you seen Juvies, the new show on MTV?