Today was interesting. One of my students (I'll call him Hercules) asked me about World War II. He's studying the Zoot Suit riots and there was a reference to the war in 1943. He asked me if the war was still happening in 1943. I told him yes, and then he started asking questions about the war, and who was involved, and who "won". We went through some pretty heavy questions about war and why we bombed the Japanese, and that there really isn't a "winner" in a war as the outcome is death and destruction. From there we went onto nuclear explosions and atomic energy and fallout shelters and the ripple effect of a nuclear disaster. We talked about different types of energy (fossil fuel, nuclear, hydro-electric and wind) and why a balance is so important. We talked about the U.N. and the Iraq conflict and what would happen if China or Korea or Pakistan launched a nuclear warhead at us. We talked about the chain reaction of anger and fighting and how many innocent people are destroyed in a war. I used an analogy of a fight where bystanders are hurt just by being in the wrong place when a punch lands too far from the intended target. I also used the analogy of street gangs being similar to warring countries. He was so involved in the discussion, asking question after question, soaking up the information and continuing to probe the "why" and "what" and "how" of life as he saw it. The most amazing part was at the end when we talked about how he could impact war and the world. He said he didn't have a choice, that the people in power were the ones making decisions about war. I said that he had a choice every day. He asked me how, and I told him by protecting the innocent and keeping his community safe. He again asked me how, and I told him that keeping out of gangs is a choice he can make every day, and that if he continues making those right choices, the world will be a different place for him as he gets older. I only said it once, and then just stopped talking. I moved on to something else, and he was quiet for a bit. I could tell it was something that hit home and got him to think. But I didn't make it a big deal, just let it simmer there in his mind for a while.
Also had a run-in with another student. Very uncomfortable. He just got out of jail for assault and is on house arrest. He has been coming in to school every day but not doing any work. Today he brought his brother with him, who is not enrolled in school. All the brothers are in and out of jail. I'll call him Fouts. So every time Fouts comes, he distracts another student whom I'll call Mr. Slick (cause he thinks he's slick when he lies to me!). I was not comfortable with Fouts being here not doing work and bringing his brother. Since the teacher (I'll call her Curls since her hair is curly) is out taking care of her family (her mom just passed) I am here alone. I've only been working in Alternative Education for a month, so I'm pretty new ... Obviously. Anyway, today I felt it was time to draw the line as I don't want them to think they can do what they want at school. So I walked over to the teacher down the hall Denna to ask her to help. Well she brought out the Wrath Stick and came in with major attitude, kicked out Fouts' brother, pissed off Fouts and Mr. Slick got pissed off and left. I was able to explain why I brought in Denna (needed help, Fouts wasn't working, his brother wasn't enrolled ... blah blah blah) but it was a tense situation and made me feel awkward. But Fouts did three pages of homework so it turned out ok. I don't care if Denna made them angry, they need to know that school is serious, and they can't treat it like a teen center. It also gave me an escalation process, as I had been asking him to work all week and he was not taking me seriously. And the comparison between me / Curls and Denna will give them a chance to appreciate our teaching style more than Denna's. So all is good, I think ...
At least I was able to work with Hercules a little bit. None of my girls showed up today but they had for the most part checked in and told me they'd be absent. I did email back & forth with Curls and she seems to be in good spirits so I am thankful for that.
Jonah is sick. His school just called so I'm going to leave at 12:30 to go pick him up. Something is happening at school I think. He didn't want to go to school today as he said he had a stomachache. Last night he said he didn't want to celebrate his birthday at school. Now he told his teacher he has a sore throat and a headache. I don't know what is happening or why the poor little guy is feeling bad. Hopefully we'll get the story from him and he'll feel well enough to go to school tomorrow for his birthday party.
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