Helter Skelter

   One of the things I set up when I started this blog was to bring the world of education in the perspective of business. I think most can agree that anything that has to do with the government is a completely different world than the corporate one. When I worked for the petrochemical company we had plenty of projects that the company abandoned. It reached a certain point where the money was going into the project just did not make anyone any money. Now if we took this approach with kids, we would have even more that are left behind and just disregarded. A kid's future really boils down to whether that teacher, aunt, uncle, mom, or dad makes an impact on that kid. It is also a function of their environment.

  I have a friend that I have recently reconnected with. (Facebook is a great thing.) His job is at what we call in my district an alternative stool. This strikes a cord with me as one of the kids in my Astronomy class has just been accepted into a program like this. He has a rough home life and does not really try at school. The purpose of these programs is simple. They take the kids that are at risk of not finishing school and give them an environment where they can focus in smaller classes and get credit. These kids typically have a rotten life outside of school. They deal with gangs, drugs, and parents that are either never there or have left them to deal with life themselves. Some of them have literally grown up on the streets. Recently my friend gave me a breakdown of his day. It shows his determination to really help these kids. In his message he told me about a fight that he broke up. In the excerpt below this is what happens when the outside world and the world of education collide:

   

    I and another teacher went to stand between them when we saw the looks back and forth. Just when we thought they had settled because of our presence, a little girl starts instigating and calling for them to act like men-- they proceed to act like children. The other teacher went to remove the one male student who seemed most determined to fight, while I stayed behind to calm the others. One group had numbers on the other and was fanning out to surround them. I cut them off and was moving them back toward their own table when the first male student broke free from the other teacher and charged a group of students. I made a judgment call that if I could stop this one student the rest would not follow into chaos. I put down my cup and intercepted the kid. I bear hugged him and turned him from the other table of students he was about to attack. I was disregarding that I am recovering from a major surgery and a hit to the face could send me to the hospital- a fact that would get me chided by my coworkers later. I felt I had to act as the situation was headed for a racial fight that would involve over a dozen students.

I was able to hold the kid (only about a 150 lbs of him thank God) until several other staff members could intervene. Within a minute or so the kid was grounded, and others were being escorted one by one form the room. I was very pleased to see that several students stepped in to try and keep the peace. Several of the students are being dealt with through the appropriate courts, and I hope will be placed temporarily in the jail school for the safety of our campus. For the moment the are suspended.

  My friend's story shows the other side of being a staff member at any school in an area with at risk kids. Sometimes we have to play referee to kid's conflicts that extend beyond the home front. It is these kids that have gotten left behind by society. It is the teachers at these institutions that are our last line of defense. We have fights at the school I work with and the end of the year is prime time for it. I saw a fight in the cafeteria on Monday as well, the security at our schools stepped in immediately. These fights are part of being a teacher. Our district has rules on who can step in to help break up a fight to prevent injury to teachers. Poverty is a cycle. It is perpetuated by a low education level. The low education level prevents the parents from getting jobs and places a financial strain on the family. This strain forces mosts kids to either quit school or if they graduate force them to go to work instead of to college. Then the cycle starts for the next generation. The only hope we have as a society is to reach these kids and hopefully break the cycle. Coming from a district that has about 60% of kids on free and reduced lunch, I can relate to the struggle to teach them and to impart the importance of education. Students are willing to give up education to settle a score that most of the time is over something that is by adult terms not worth it. Not all teachers have to put themselves on the line. My friend does. He does this not because of the money, but because he wants to make a difference.

Today we live in a society that often puts forth the idea that violence is necessary. How many movies does the good guy go through and try to resolve the conflict with words instead of bullet? On shows like Jersey Shore how often do they talk out their problems instead of punching the other person in the face? We must work to impart the importance of education to these kids. Send a message that education is a way out and not something that you would be willing to give up.

Until tomorrow,

He who opens a school door, closes a prison. ~Victor Hugo