He is 16. He has been to juvenile hall once. He says that he chooses when to come to school and when not to and no one can tell him otherwise.
Today, he was smoking a cigarette, rolling dice on the street with a 45 year old woman. At 4:15 pm he was gambling openly.
And the reason I got so upset about it is because I just cannot imagine what is going on in his mind to NOT come to school once in the last month. What is he thinking when he chooses gambling, smoking and god knows what else over his education?
And, where is his life going to lead as a result? How do I help influence him? How do we, as a school community, get involved in his life to lead him back to school?
Is it my job? And if it isn't my job whose job is it? Because I don't see anyone else stepping to the plate....
One of many heart throb moments I have had in the last week regarding some of the African-American males in my class. Last night, I read this article that compared living in Oakland to living in a war zone. 16 year old African-American males are 16 times more likely to die than their white counterparts. Homicide is the LEADING cause of death for 10-24 year old African American males.....
What are we not doing right? And what can we begin to do in order to help these young men find the value in education and the value in their life?
2 comments:
You are doing everything right. What a great teacher you are. You have to know that.
Katherine,
These posts are just amazing! You are doing right- you are doing good. My principal always would say they may not remember what you say or what you did but they will always remember how you made them feel.
Thanks for posting and more importantly- thanks for doing what you are doing.
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