Summer School, Week 1

My core group of thuglets have dropped out of the program before summer school started. They don't get along with my sub-administrator either, who questions their taste in music and clothes if they are too far out of the Local Norm. This truly raises my hackles, because if anyone understands the reasons for rejecting the small-town rah-rah 'sup y'all paradigm, it is I, the Original Outcast. Leave them alone, dammit. Let them wear black. Permit them some questionable music with inappropriate lyrics. Don't act like attendance at sporting events is mandatory. Don't drop comments about how they could improve their appearance.

These were MY kids, the ones who just didn't fall neatly into the Categories. Now they're at home, doubtless getting into trouble or staring slackjawed at an X-box game. The exception is Favorite Thug, who is 15 and in Driver's Ed. He sneaked away from class to show me a drawing he was working on. It was pen & ink, really well-executed, his typical theme of demons. He told me, "I know I'm not supposed to do this, but oh well." It was then that I noticed he had drawn it (in ink, mind you) on the inside cover of a brand new hardcover Driver's Ed book. I covertly admired the drawing and told him it was beautiful, but that I'm not supposed to admire art penned in textbooks. I gently suggested that he bring a sketchbook next time.

Since my kids have all dropped out, I have all sorts of disenfranchisees that other teachers won't take because they are behavioral nightmares, have an aide, or simply won't do anything. I will have to create a whole new set of skills to adjust to this, and I just feel too put-upon to want to care. Maybe we'll just play hacky sack the whole time ( a tradition in my classes).