She Was Punched and He Made the Team

Fall break ended three weeks ago and I've been in a funk since returning to the classroom.  I've kept it to myself as best as I could so as not to discourage Gnu but on Thursday of this past week I spoke up.  The school day was over and as usual Gnu and I were in the classroom alone after returning from bus duty.  There is usually not a lot of conversation at the end of the school day as we are both drained from seven hours in a classroom. The normal end of day routine was going on.  Gnu was placing her "stuff" into piles on her front table that eventually get transferred to the piles of "stuff" that are on her desk.  I'm putting the room back in order prior to the custodians arriving to do their daily sort of cleaning.  With all the chairs up on top of the desks I sat down at my desk with the view from the back of the room and said to her, "I'm frustrated."  She looks up at me and said, "why?"  "I sit back here everyday watching how hard you work, I watch the effort you put in to give our scholars the best education possible and right now I'm frustrated that these scholars can't grasp some of the simplest concepts," I said.  "You're right.  Something has changed as they've lost their focus and maybe I'm not doing a good enough job," she said.  When Gnu said what she said I knew immediately that I made a mistake.  My response to her was quick, "don't get down on yourself as you are doing a great job in a very difficult environment."  One of my classroom goals this year, that I shared with the Big B at the start of the school year, was to do everything I could to be sure Gnu was successful.  I slipped up on a Thursday and put doubts into her head and that is not why I'm in the classroom.  Going forth, I think I'll vent some of my frustrations with a different teacher, one that always finds the right words to say to keep me on track, my part time editor, part time consultant, and full time spouse.

So what caused my frustration besides the scholars loosing their way academically.  I'll tell you a few.

1. An announcement was made that a crisis team was needed in a general education classroom.  Two of my crisis team colleagues arrived before I did.  When I tried to enter the classroom the door was locked.  A non-crisis team member that was in the room saw me and unlocked the door.  When I walked in the scholars in this classroom had vacated the room to their safe place.  My two colleagues were trying to restrain a scholar who was in a real rage.  Prior to my arrival, he trashed the classroom to include causing two hundred dollars worth of damage to text books, hit his teacher and was strong enough to keep two adults from controlling him.  Now that I'm in the room the two adults trying to contain this scholar say they are loosing control and ask me to take a hold of him so they can recover.  I do and this scholar immediately tries to avoid my hold by raising up his legs and feet thinking I won't be able to hold him.  Nice try but young scholar that will not work.  I'm eventually asked to move the scholar out of the center of the room and towards a wall to better contain him.  When I get him there his first reaction is to try and bite me.  That didn't work so he decides to bang his head against the wall.  I reposition my body to contain him and then place my hand on the wall where his head is hitting it.  Now it is a matter of trying to deescalate him.  Another twenty or so minutes later the scholar is moving toward de-escalation.  My time lost from academics in my classroom, about forty-five minutes.  The lost academic time for the home room teacher about ninety minutes.  The number of scholars displaced for about ninety minutes despite doing all the right things in a classroom, about twenty.  The repercussions for the scholar that caused all this mayhem, minimal.
2. A scholar in my classroom walks off the bus one morning wearing a t-shirt and pants with an outdoor temperature of approximately forty-five degrees.  When he arrives in the classroom Gnu asks him where his hoodie is as it's cold outside.  He replies, "my brother spilled something on it so my parental unit threw it away."  I look over at Gnu and she says, "his parental unit does not own a washer and dryer."  So I say to her, "rather than washing clothes she just throws them away."  I didn't get a response.  Twice this scholar has been invited to go to an organization that provides clothing to scholars in need.  This scholar was twice fully equipped with clothes to include, winter coat, hat, gloves, sweat shirts, school shirts and pants and shoes.  When this scholar is questioned about the whereabouts of these clothes the response is, "I don't know." 
3. A scholar in my classroom is getting ready do go outside for recess.  It's cool outside so he is putting his hoodie on.  He walks over to me and says "Mr. Schultz, my zipper is broke can I go to the office and get a new hoodie?"  This is not the first time this scholar has had a clothing issue and every time he has had one there is not one thought of having his parental unit solve his problem, he just expects the school to give him a new hoodie.  This scholar is in the fourth grade and already has the mindset that others are to provide all of his basic clothing needs and not his parental unit.   
4. It's early in the morning and Gnu and I are alone in the classroom.  "I met with another teacher yesterday after school to look at the Facebook page of a parental unit for one of our scholars," Gnu says to me.  "Who?" I asked.  Gnu tells me the scholars name and then said the picture of this scholars parental unit was "scary."  "The parental unit was doing his best gangbanger, thug pose and while doing so was holding a joint in his hand," she said.  Dear Lowest Life Form and other Pointy Headed Intellectuals, you seem to go to great lengths to hold a teacher totally responsible for the education of a scholar.  Maybe it's time you started to focus on the location of the real problem.   
5. I get a call to go to Knew2's classroom to assist with a disruptive scholar.  When I arrive, two other crisis team members are in the classroom, and they are doing their best to avoid having The Collector scratch them.  As I approach The Collector I can see in his eyes that he is really angry so I'm careful as I stand in front of his and try and talk to him.  My calming attempt is not working so a decision is made to move him into the time out room.  The two crisis team members are having difficulty moving him in the right direction so I assist.  Once we have The Collector in the time out room I ask what brought this behavior on and Oreo filled me in.   Dear Parental Unit, I just had to physically move your scholar into a time out room because he is angry.  Dear Parental Unit, do you know why your scholar is angry?  It's your scholars birthday and you promised him that you would come to school on his birthday and bring something that he can share with his classmates.  Dear Parental Unit, you don't have a job so what the hell could be so damn important that you chose not to honor your promise to you scholar on his birthday? 
6. Gnu is eating lunch with the scholars in the cafeteria.  As they are leaving the room one of our scholars is upset because they are leaving to go back to the classroom.  This scholar walks up behind Gnu and slugs her in the back and takes off running.  Gnu, frustrated with what just happens, lets the scholar run off and returns to the classroom.  A phone call is made to get help retrieving this scholar and eventually the scholar is returned to our classroom.  The scholar is in the room less than fifteen minutes when he starts breaking crayons and throwing them at the other scholars in the room.  I move toward him to get him stop before someone gets hurt.  He sees me coming, runs across the room, picks up a plastic container holding sliced apples and throws the container at me and is again running down the hallway.  So you know, there is a direct link between this scholar and the parental unit mentioned in item number four.

It's now Friday morning and I'm sitting in the classroom with Gnu just trying to survive the week.  All the scholars made it to school on Friday and are sitting quietly in the classroom.  Just before we get our academic day started the Big B comes on the overhead speaker to make an announcement.  She starts as follows, "may I please have the attention of all of the fourth through six grade boys as I have an announcement about our boys basketball team."  Gnu and I look at each other and know that this is a big moment for one of our scholars.  Actually, big is an understatement, huge would be a much better word as this could be a life changing moment for this scholar.  The Big B continues, "I will be announcing the names of the scholars that have made our boys basketball team.  If I call your name please report to the gym.  As a reminder, not all of the boys that tried out for the team will make the team."  He's sitting within four feet of me at my table and for the first time I think he realized that he may not have made the team.  At the start of this announcement he had a big smile on his face.  Now, that smile is gone, and the classroom is dead silent.  After a delay on the part of the Big B, she starts to read the names.  "Scholar #1 report to the gym.  Scholar #2 report to the gym.  Scholar #3 report to the gym.  The room is still dead silent and I'm starting to think about what to say to him if he is not chosen.  Scholar #4 report to the gym."   The classroom erupts with shouting and hand clapping and EM's smile is huge.  He made the team and Gnu and I both realize that this could be a real life changing experience for this fine your scholar.  Despite all of my frustrations, all of my venting, this announcement has made my day.   I think I'll stick around just so I can see how this story will end.

That's it.  I'm out for another week.  Thank you again for hanging out with an old guy with a view from the back of the room.  Did I mention that EM made the basketball team?  Words cannot describe how happy Gnu and I are for him.