It's only Tuesday?

I am so tired from today. It feels like a full moon must be on its way. Today, Donovan decided to question everything, I mean everything, and speak very rudely toward me. Another student, Israel, continued to write gang signs on every paper plus some, called me "gangsta" several times, swore left and right, chewed gum continuously, walked around the math room where I co-teach in another teacher's classroom, threw gang signs across the room to another student and basically twittered about as if he were a fly on speed, buzzing, buzzing everywhere.

So, why don't I write the students up or send them to the office for this egregious behavior? Because it really doesn't get me or the student anywhere. It used to before the Bored started closing down the alternative schools. Now, the only place kids with behavioral problems can go is the juvenile detention center. So, I've come to the conclusion that it's best if I try to build a rapport and be the teacher that "understands" and doesn't write them up.

There used to be schools for kids with emotional and behavioral challenges. Small programs, like the one I started my teaching career in, where there is a 6:1 ratio of students to teachers, there are several full time social workers, a full time nurse, two full time occupational therapist, a full time psychologist, and a full time speech pathologist. My CPS school has a a part time social worker, a part time nurse, a part time psychologist (who only does testing--no counseling), and a part time speech pathologist. So, the services that are there to help the students with the most troubles are very scarce.

I used to try really hard to get my students into alternative programs. The ones I thought could benefit. I used to write anecdotals that would be fit for a best-selling biography. But, I've started saving my energies for other things. Three years ago, it finally occurred to me that I was spinning my wheels. I referred a student to the Office of Specialized Services to be evaluated for a behavioral disorder. After going through pages of anecdotals that included a picture of the student killing me and my assistant and blowing up the school, the enlightened behavioral specialist told me--and wrote in her report-- "Ben doesn't have a behavioral problem. Swearing doesn't constitute a behavioral disorder."

The funny thing is that Ben never swore, so I'm not sure what she was talking about.

The sad thing is that less than one month later, Ben shot another student. Fortunately, the student lived.

And Ben did end up in an alternative educational program. The Cook County Juvenile Detention Center.

Ben should be a sophomore in high school now. But, he quit. He's on the street selling drugs.