Breaking them Down - Week 2

Tuesday - Being home for the weekend, and a long weekend at that, has made them crazy. In the halls they tackle each other and play tag. In the morning we had extra time so I decided to take the time to play a short game to get to know each other. The kids had another plan. Still as silent as could be. I decided to freeze them out. "Fine. You don't want to play then sit there in silence." So they sat. They sat and they stared at the wall for 15 minutes. Then they spoke. I don't remember who spoke first or what was said but it didn't matter. At this point any communication was welcomed. The bell rang and they went to their first class. An hour later I'm standing in the hall during passing period when one of my students walked by with her friends. They look at me and say, "must suck to have the white bitch as a teacher." Again I realize where I am. I didn't say anything to the students just let it roll off my back but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that it made me think a little harder about if this was the right place to be.

Thursday - The week went okay. The cursing of my students died down somewhat. They are listening a bit better. I even had a student bring me a gift today. Nakida and I were talking about soda yesterday and she said that her favorite was peach soda. I had never tried it before and today she brought me a bottle. The simplest gesture and yet it showed me I was making some sort of progress. Today was sad though as well. Yesterday was Tia's birthday and this morning when I asked her how it went she said not good. I asked if she had cake and she said no she didn't. Her mom had to put gas in the car so she had no money left to buy her a cake. Can you imagine your birthday without a cake? I gave her a big hug but my heart broke for her.

Friday - My co-teacher was out today so I had the kids all day by myself. I found that I relaxed around them. I started to get into the groove I think but just when I started to breathe I lost my breath again. A new student walked in, Aina. She is 14. She is 5 months pregnant. She has more attitude then any of my kids. She curses a lot. She will be hard to break, if breakable at all.