Norman is not Normal.

I've spoken of him before. He's never in class. He is always talking (screaming) about a private body part or a sexual act (or both.) He does not like Rashad.

Rashad is about 4 feet tall and weighs like 60 pounds. Norman has about 8 inches and 50 pounds on him. Instead of fighting with Rashad (who, by the way, besides being a little bit loony is basically a good kid) he tells his mother he hates him. Norman's mother brings her 2 sisters and 3 daughters (all over age 16) to wait at the bus stop for school to get out so they can beat up Rashad.

Officer Johnson hears about this situation and calls for backup. SIX police cars, lights flashing, sirens blaring speed into the parking lot just as school is letting out. These grown women run away and jump on the city bus that has pulled up at the bus stop.

Nice getaway car, "ladies."

Y'all Some Clowns

Some of our kids have started a gang. They call themselves "PZK" or purple zone killahz. Everybody in the gang is around 12 or 13. They've told us that they get points by doing things like beating people up or skipping class. The more points you have, the "higher in rank" you get in the gang. They have purple bandannas and bracelets and necklaces. They are causing a huge disruption in the school and some of the other kids are scared of them.
Yesterday, the teachers decided to do something about it. We've tried talking to the ones who generally have more common sense, but we all know that a 14 year old only REALLY listens to another one. So, forget talking.
We started a gang. PZT-Purple Zone Teachers. We get points by holding detentions, calling parents and failing kids. Today we all wore purple.
They were PISSED. Well, the kids not in the gang thought it was great. But the PZK kids were all up in arms. It was freaking hilarious. They just had no idea how to react. They just kept asking us why we were all wearing purple and acting all offended.

What, do you own purple? Yeah, I didn't think so.
We copied you? gangs have been around awhile dear.
We're clowns? Why? Because we joined a dumb group with dumb rules? Oh, wait, so did you.

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I don't even know where to start!*

Today was absolutely insane. I don't know why, but it seemed like somebody flipped a switch and everybody lost their mind.
I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I really feel like these children have no idea how to deal with any emotion whatsoever. Anger, happiness, sadness, grief. They've just never learned what to do and when.
At 8:30a.m. some boy that I don't know was just running up and down the hallway screaming, "Fuck you, bitch!" over and over again. I have no idea why.
Later on, Xavier told another teacher that he would kill him.
At lunch, Tashawna and Tonia got into a fight and some of the other kids started a food fight. After lunch in the office, Tonia saw Tashawna and started hitting her again. They broke a table in the office and knocked over some parents who were in there. After we separate them AGAIN, I find out that Tashawna is pregnant. (The father is a 17 yr old who already has 3 other children!!!) Tashawna sees some girls in the hallway and screams at them because she thinks they are talking about her. I leave her in the office to make those girls go to class. When I turn the corner ANOTHER fight breaks out between two boys. Once THAT one gets broken up, Tashawna has ran out of the office and is running around the building looking for Tonia. The school police officers catch up to her and she goes INSANE. Screaming, yelling, fighting, cursing, kicking, punching. She ended up getting arrested.
AND THEN!!! Tonia is back in the office. Tonia's aunt (a grown woman!) comes up to the school and gets Tonia's 6th grade sister out of class. She starts screaming at our principal about how Tashawna is a slut and a bitch and how she will kill her. Tonia, Kea and the aunt all sneak out of the office and start walking around the building looking for Tashawna. I finally see them and tell them that Tashawna has left. I walk them to the exit door.
All of a sudden, 3 boys come at full speed to the door and run out. One of them, Deondre, is just out of jail. Today was his first day back (after his 2nd jail stint.) He just got placed in a group home. I go back into the office to tell them these boys left, and they say "okay."

Maybe we should just end the week now?

*I apologize for any and all grammatical errors.

They've Seen Too Much To Be Called Children

Antwan was crying in the hallway. I asked him what was wrong and he was really reluctant to tell me, so I told him to come sit down in my room. I gave him some juice and the whole thing spilled out. He was upset because he had said some really horrible things to his mother that he didn't actually mean.
He then told me that his 18 yr old brother comes home drunk all the time and beats up his mother. Last night, the mother was trying to call the cops and the brother threw all the phones on the roof. After the brother leaves, Antwan's mother is so frustrated with the situation that she yells at him about petty things. He gets upset and says mean things to her. She screams at him some more. Antwan is supposed to come to school and pay attention in math?

Eric is probably one of the smartest kids I know. Last year, I had serious respect for him because he was not violent and he acted very mature when dealing with 6th grade situations. (He steered clear of the "He took my pencil/She hit my arm/He touched my foot" arguments) Now he's in a gang for "protection." He told me that's how he gets respect. I ended up talking to him for about an hour today about how much he's changed from last year. Now he is getting people to beat up some girls that are talking about his girlfriend. He thinks everything is solved by a fight and that he will never ever lose a fight. He has that teenager mentality that nothing will ever happen to him.
Well, as it usually happens when these kids have someone to sit down and listen to them for a minute, another teacher and I heard a lot about his life today. He has lived with his grandmother since he was 2 years old because his mother is an addict. Right now, his mother is in the hospital and she might die, but no one will take him to see her or tell him what happened. His grandmother is incredibly strict, but he has a hard time understanding that she does it because she loves him. NONE of his friends have that kind of supervision. He has no idea who his father is. He really feels like no one cares for him or has any interest in his life.
It's becoming harder and harder to deal with the fact that I can't make everything okay.

Yay

My new job is totally undefined. I walk the hallways. I talk to kids. I work in the office. I make posters.
It's totally awesome. It's my perfect job.

I'm sure it will be over soon.

The Theme Was Fightin'

So, sometimes ( a lot of the time) kids get sent to me to "cool down" from some situation. (I'll go out on a limb and say 90% have anger management problems)

Well, Kiana was standing outside my room telling me what had happened for her to be sent out of math.
"Well, she said 'blahblah' and I said, "blahblah..."
I wasn't following. "Kiana, set up the story before you tell it."

"Okay, okay, the characters were me, Janae, the girl Brittany and my sister. The setting was math class. It was a rainy day and I had on a blue shirt..."

My Bad!

Okay, so my kids were doing math worksheets. I told them if they finished them quickly, we could play a game (that they love): Silent Speed Ball. Some of the girls asked me if they could color some Valentine's cards. I told them that was fine, as long as they finished their work.

When it was time to play/draw, I said this, "Okay! Okay! Speed Ball people stand up! color people sit down!"

Ronquelda says, "Aren't we all color people?"

THE PEOPLE WITH THE CRAYONS! MY BAD!

Dial Tone

Today we were going over the answers to a math worksheet. As I was reading, I would enunciate each answer and speak very clearly. "The answer is....five TWENTY FIFTHS."

After I finished, Ke'Yarn said from the back, "If you would like to make a call, please hang up and dial again."

Nonsense (cont'd)

Alright, so the science teacher finally showed up.

I spent most of today wandering the hallways and taking kids to the classes they were skipping.

I ended up having to keep like 5 kids in my room after they'd gotten in trouble and had nowhere to go. They were doing an art project for me and were just sitting there quietly.

So one of the vice-principals decided that I should be in charge of a small self-contained class of all the nutsos. I'll just keep them all day and teach them things they aren't learning in their real class. Well, okay, that is partially awesome. EXCEPT, if they think I can do that alone, they are severely overestimating my abilities. Just because I can get them to sit down and do art doesn't mean I can teach them how to read. And why would I be left with the worst of the worst with no help whatsoever? And ALL DAY LONG? Wow. Just wow.

We're On The Magic School Bus

So, like I said, we watched Magic School Bus today. It was good times. They make noises when I say cartoon, because they're "too old" for that. But then everyone stares intently at the screen and they laugh at the 2nd grade jokes. I love it.

We watched the one where they go inside Ralphie to find out why he's sick.

"Miss Vinson, look at that blood...its really gross."
"They are on a tiny bus inside a person, its going to be gross."

We watched the one where Arnold's annoying cousin Janet comes and they go into space.

"Miss Vinson, I do NOT like Janet. She is RUDE."
"Just watch the video."
"Ugh. Janet is a B."
"Shut Up Janet! GAH!"
"Janet need to stop."
"Miss Vinson, why Janet so ANNOYING?!"


"WATCH THE VIDEO."

Day One of Not Teaching...

....I taught.

"Miss Vinson, the science teacher called in sick. Can you just keep them one more day?"

Oh, sure, not a problem. Glad I have a plan of things to do when they know any work I give them means nothing because the grading quarter is over.

We watched Magic School Bus. It's science.