Being a high school teacher in an urban setting in the twenty first century is about so much more than teaching. You're often a parent, mentor, confidant, and therapist.
She walked into the classroom. I don't recall exactly when but I do know that it wasn't the first month of school. She didn't quite resemble a junior in high school. Her physical frame indicated that she was a high school student, but the Bratz book bag and elementary school pencils with the furry pencil tops was a sure give away that mentally she was not a junior in high school. Her walk was unique. It was a slanted walk. She practically stomped when she took a step; her steps were wide, awkward, and definitely not calculated. There was something in my nature that ignited this student's defiance. I cared. Maybe too much. She appeared to hate the fact that I cared so much, but she would reveal small snippets of who she was under this layer of defiance.
She was always clingy. She was a freshman, but it was as if she wasn't ready to grow up. She was shy amongst her peers. Insecure. Unsure of who she was. Maybe it was the excess weight. It could have been the acne. She did everything that I asked her to do. She wasn't the strongest student, but she was capable. She was willing. She wanted my approval. Someone's approval. Definitely some acknowledgement.
She was a trendy student. Fashionable. An independent risk taker in the realm of fashion. She was as blunt as her rock star hair cut (shaved head on one side with a star embedded in the fuzz of new growth and a layer of curls on the remaining side of the head with hair). Her bark was loud and her bite was all the more ferocious. She definitely had a chip on her shoulder. But why? She was so young. Insightful. Even polite...towards me and those she liked. However, in all of her efforts of politeness there was an attitude brewing. Waiting to erupt.....lash out at. Someone to throw all the hostility that was being held inside.
He was a chubby kid. Actually overweight. He tried so hard to be cool. His day began and set on being cool. He had to prove his masculinity. He resembled a girl. Maybe it was his hairstyle. His long box braids. His face was cherubic. He had freckles as I do. Watching him hold a pencil was a sight that nearly snapped my heart in two.
She was always clingy. She was a freshman, but it was as if she wasn't ready to grow up. She was shy amongst her peers. Insecure. Unsure of who she was. Maybe it was the excess weight. It could have been the acne. She did everything that I asked her to do. She wasn't the strongest student, but she was capable. She was willing. She wanted my approval. Someone's approval. Definitely some acknowledgement.
She was a trendy student. Fashionable. An independent risk taker in the realm of fashion. She was as blunt as her rock star hair cut (shaved head on one side with a star embedded in the fuzz of new growth and a layer of curls on the remaining side of the head with hair). Her bark was loud and her bite was all the more ferocious. She definitely had a chip on her shoulder. But why? She was so young. Insightful. Even polite...towards me and those she liked. However, in all of her efforts of politeness there was an attitude brewing. Waiting to erupt.....lash out at. Someone to throw all the hostility that was being held inside.
He was a chubby kid. Actually overweight. He tried so hard to be cool. His day began and set on being cool. He had to prove his masculinity. He resembled a girl. Maybe it was his hairstyle. His long box braids. His face was cherubic. He had freckles as I do. Watching him hold a pencil was a sight that nearly snapped my heart in two.
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