Violence

This year has generally seemed like a pretty violent school year. There have been a lot of fights, a lot of girls' weaves pulled, and many cases of pandemonium in the halls between classes.

Friday, I guess a bunch of brewing issues came to a head. One of my students showed up to class with sunglasses on and a note that she would be out of school for a few weeks. The student told me that she was in a car accident, but her friends told me later that she had been jumped on her way home from school the day before. To spare you the unpleasant details, I will just leave it be that her face was in pretty bad shape and she has to go to the doctor because she may need back surgery.

Additionally on Friday, a massive fight broke out between several kids in the hall between classes. It took teachers, the dean, and the school safety police almost 20 minutes to finally get the madness to settle down and send the many spectator students back to class. Only a short while later, a kid from our school was jumped by a kid from another school in our building. All in all, it was a pretty chaotic atmosphere in school.

Sometimes when things get crazy, I stop to think: Why are so many people scratching their heads about why our kids have a hard time learning? Hmm let's see: there is violence in the halls, classes start late because of rioting, chaos breaks out in the middle of classes, and they are afraid to walk home from school because they might get jumped. Yes, that definitely promotes quality educational experiences and good feelings about school and learning.