Living next door to the bathroom

My classroom is right next door to the boys bathroom. This constitutes for two things:
1. smells
2. fights

High school kids love to smoke (well some of them). Some are so addicted they can't wait until after school, or they just think they are so cool that have to do it at school. The problem is.. as teachers.. we cannot turn anyone in for smoking unless we actually see the thing in their mouth and smoke coming out. (which is just so awful). And the kids know this, so as I stand at my door to greet my wonderful children as they come to my classroom to learn I often get a whiff (sp?) of something.. and then it gets much stronger.

Most of the time it is cigarettes or weed, sometimes its the ole black and mild. (This is so awful, but I kinda like the black and mild days.. those don't smell that bad). One day the weed was so potent that myself and a few of my students got a headache!!

Later on in the year the security guard started locking the door, so that helped some, but the poor guys just had to hold it or go to the other end of the building if they actually needed to use the restroom.

ok so on to the fights..
There were three pretty bad fights outside my door this year. One of which the two boys came from my 3rd block class. My students "check" each other, and most of the time no one gets upset. (I am so naive. I didn't really realize what this was until later in the year... my students next year will not be able to do this in class.. its a total disruption) But anyways.. this kid K is small and is all talk... and this kid J is HUGE is all talk as well. I told J to sit down a few times in class but he was "sharpening his pencil" or "throwing something away" so I did not think anything of it. When the bell rang, a few seconds later I hear all this commotion outside my room. Oh its J and K just rolling in the floor hitting each other and everyone with their phones out filming the whole thing! I mean I guess I have to look at it this way... they were polite enough to me to wait until they got outside! I found out it was all planned because K left his book bag in my room right by the door. K called J something and it made J mad so they met after class. J defiantly won the fight though. I really wish I would have stopped it somehow before it started.. but I really do not know how. They were not doing anything out of the ordinary.

The other two were girl fights. One happened with 5 girls before school started. I was in the teacher's lounge (which is a couple doors down from my room) putting up my lunch box. I was about to open the door and walk out when I heard it start. So what do I do? I stand inside the door and just listen and wait for it to be over! My principal told me not to try to break up any fights (I guess he thinks I might get hurt or something haha), so I just listened. The men teachers on the hall had it under control. When I walked out I helped heard everyone to class and then went on to my room. The hall way was full of loose papers and hair weave.

The other one that I can remember was over a boy (isn't it always? haha) Two girls start at it after homeroom. They came out of two different homerooms but met in the middle across from the bathroom. Then another girl gets in to help one of them. One of these girls was one of my track girls (I helped coach the track team this year), and she had JUST been in my room to talk to me! She was just fine, not mad at all. It's crazy to me how people can get SO mad SO fast they just want to rip people apart.

OH i was so MAD

This story starts at the beginning of school. I have this guy in my homeroom. We will call him L. L is the ultimate ladies man. He is always talking to a different girl in the hallway. This one girl in particular has a MAJOR crush on him. She is also in my homeroom. At first it was cute..but then the other kids started telling me things about her crush. She would pay people to tell her information on him... such as his favorite color. She gave me some poems she had written for me to read. They were all about him. All 7 of them.. each a page or 2 long.

Back to L. I meet this guy's mentor/guardian/friend man at a track meet. We get to talking and (we will call him Mr.J) Mr. J asks be about L. I tell him I have had trouble with him staying in class and all the girls just love him. Mr. J proceeds to tell me that L's mother left him when he was 8. And not your typical leave while the kid is asleep leave.. the kicking and screaming mommy don't make me go.. kind of leave. and that L had a panic attack the other day and punched a hole in the wall b/c a girl told him that she was having his baby. wow.

L and I have had a good relationship since school started. When I would see him in the hallway trying to mack on some girl I would just roll my eyes and he would laugh and laugh because he knew why I was looking at him like that. He really is a sweet kid.

So I had given him some makeup work for being out some, and he came in my room one day during my planning period. He also needed help filling out his next year's schedule, so I started helping him with that. I asked him about the rumor of the girl having his baby, and he said she said she wasn't.

This started a long convo.

He said he didn't want to have a baby with her, so I asked why he had sex with her. "Easy i guess"

Then he starts talking about how he doesn't mean to skip class but he just has so much in his head he can't just sit. Play basketball, fighting, or getting a tattoo is the only way for him to relieve stress and let his mind rest for a moment.

He continues to tell he how his aunt will get him arrested if he goes home because he hit her. But he was so frustrated because she has abused him mentally and emotionally for so long he just couldn't help it. He can't even go to his grandmother's house because she will tell his aunt. And his dad is wanting him to move away.

He doesn't have any family.

So start to list for him all the people I know at school that have been there for him and really love him and help him out.

He said that is the worst part.. I love my school family.. but all these kids have people to go home to and hang out with and eat with... why do they have people and I do not?

We talk about that for a little bit.. then I get a little bold (oh i was so nervous!!).. and ask if he prays.

He said "yea.. I don't know who I am talking to, but I hope its God. and every single time I go to church its like the preacher is talking directly to me"

I asked if God ever talked back to him and what He said

"He just says keep going.."

Then we get back on the family subject.. and I add in that it is so cool that his REAL Dad is the God that makes him breath and move and loves him so much more than anyone else and that all his family are going to have to stand before that Dad and answer to Him when he asks them why they did not love and care for such an amazing young man.

yea.. that comment.. came out of thin air.. not me! Praise God for giving us words to speak when none are there.

he just kinda looked at me and shook his head..

We talk a little bit more about him moving away but he is scared to, and then we finished his schedule and I sent him on to his next class.

and I went to the bathroom to cry a little. OH I was so MAD!! How can someone treat a family member so?? Gosh.
I am so glad I got to talk to him.. but for change to be made its going to take a miracle. It really will.

i got em today

so I am pretty laid back. I consider this a good thing, but in the realm of teaching high school.. it is sometimes difficult. If a kids needs to go to the bathroom, or he finished his work really fast and asks to go to the bathroom (which really means he just wants to go walk around and see who else he can talk to in the hall) most of the time I say yes.

So yesterday (Monday) which is 3 weeks until school is out, I wanted to make 3-D shapes out of patterns. All they had to do was color their pattern, cut it out, and fold it together to make a cube, pyramid, or a dodecahedron (yeaa.. bet ya don't know what that is do y?! my kids do!) so thats all they had to do. real laid back day.. any high school kids dream.

well.. they got a little toooo laid back. I got distracted and I turn around and 7 kids are standing up and just hanging out, someone had went to their locker without asking me, and there was some rap song being sung. and one kid had a laptop out playing some game. Everyone was just havin a good ole time.

I am all for fun... but that was just TO MUCH.

the bell rings... and I ponder what just happened (mind you.. they have never been that crazy before..they are crazy... but not THAT crazy)

So today this class comes in and I have a 60 question ACT review test on every desk. I tell them "Alright yall.. we HAVE to have order in this room and we WILL have order. Yesterday was very bad, so today yall get to sit in silence for an hour and a half.. and this test can keep you busy. If you talk.. you are gone."

One kid shouts out "I NEED PAPER!" me- you should already have it, go to the office
another kid "MAN THIS SUCKS" me- go to the office

everyone else... with big eyes.. did not say another word!

and everyone actually did pretty decent on the test.

Its just hard for me to "be mean" with them b/c they get yelled at by everyone else..but today I had to be. I was so fed up with them, and they knew they had messed up. I guess thats why all but about 2 or 3 said "yes mam" as soon as I told them what was going on.