Today, Tuesday, there were a few incidents that happened in class.
First, we've had a girl miss the past 5 days or so of school because she had over dosed on sleeping pills. Although this isn't the first time she's done this, it's still been rather tragic nonetheless. Today she walked into school an hour after first block had begun. Late as she was, we were glad to know that she was in school. However, not understanding the situation, some of her friends made what would otherwise have been the harmless joking comment of "Oh look, you're alive!" During that moment I wished more than anything that that boy had known even a fraction of her life story. I can't decide if it sounded semi-sincere enough to make her reconsider some life choices or if it only added insult to injury. Either way I wish the comment had never been made.
Another comment I wish had never been made happened at the end of the block. One of the popular girls sits in the front row near the two troublesome turkeys in the class. She made the comment that she wasn't feeling well and, across the room, troublesome turkey #2 goes "Maybe that's because you have a baby on the way." What was normally an inappropriately comment was made even worse by her reaction. This sweet girl completely shut down. I'm not sure what the background is on her and between her and the boy who made the comment but it was something that tugged on her heart more than it should have.
Overall, between the two comments it made for a rather interesting day. We reported the second comment to the school administration just so that those type of comments don't get out of hand. The first comment went a little bit more under the radar because we didn't want to draw attention to such a fragile situation.
I think the most interesting part is going to be seeing the ramifications of today pan out in class tomorrow.
Hi Caitlin, so how did all of this impact how you think about teaching math, students, etc.?
ReplyDeleteIt is fairly clear that math is not the primary focus of these students. So, what challenges does this bring up for you?
Your reflection does bring up all the decisions that teachers have to make in the moment about consequences, how to handle inappropriate comments, etc....not related to math at all!
I think it really hit home how much drama there is in high school. So often kids are so consumed by the latest Twitter updates or Facebook pictures that school takes a back-burner priority to them. It reminds of a bit of advice I heard from my favorite high school teacher. He said "you teach college if you love the subject, you teach high school if you love the kids." It's just a reminder that, at this stage in their lives, what they need most is another adult to help them through all of this.
DeleteIt is amazing how much words can be used to hurt people especially teenagers
ReplyDeleteWow. That does sound like an interesting day. I hope all goes well.
ReplyDelete