Wednesday, May 04, 2005
the story
In almost every class, I have one student that I call a "ghost child". They are on the class list, but they literally never come to class. Usually, the administration will eventually withdraw them and their names will simply vanish.
In tenth grade literature, my ghost child is a boy. He entered my class a few weeks after the semester had started. He came with no transcript. He was in my class twice. The second day, he asked to use the restroom and never came back. I've seen his name on the list for in-school or out-of-school suspension, and I saw him once or twice at the concession stand after school.
Right after he transferred, I saw him being transported to the office after he tried to break through a locked doorway - a locked doorway with a teacher in front of it. I heard the noise as his body slammed, shoulder-first into the huge metal door and I poked my head out of my classroom, to see what was going on. I saw that it was a kid I knew, so I went and tried to talk to him.
"Look", I said. "It's not worth getting into trouble over this. Just walk around like everyone else."
He swore and shook his head. "I don't feel like walking," he said.
There are two weeks and two days left in the school year. Two weeks even if you don't count the half-days for final exams. Monday, I saw this kid in the hallway. i greeted him like a long lost friend. "Remember me," I said. "I'm your English teacher." I invited him to attend class. He told me he had not been there because he was working. "Well", I said. "I think you will like the book we are getting ready to read."
I was shocked when he showed up on Tuesday. It was the first day of Catcher in the Rye . I read the first two chapters out loud. He stayed awake. He turned in his discussion questions. It was the only assignment he had turned in.
This morning, he saw me in the hall, smiled, and hugged me. Third period, he was back in class, awake, and he did his work again.
There is no reason for him to come to class with only a few days left in the school year. There is no reason for him to do this work. He is not trying to pass. He has not asked for make-up work or recovery. As far as I can tell, he's just coming to hear the story.
I read the whole thing out loud. I save it till the end so the kids are comfortable with me before they hear me reading the bad language. Today, one of my students asked if I feel like I need to pray for forgiveness after I read because of all the bad words Holden says. I thought for just a second, then I smiled and said, "No. Not at all."
his second day of turned-in work. and the answers are not in complete sentences, but they are all the right answers.
In tenth grade literature, my ghost child is a boy. He entered my class a few weeks after the semester had started. He came with no transcript. He was in my class twice. The second day, he asked to use the restroom and never came back. I've seen his name on the list for in-school or out-of-school suspension, and I saw him once or twice at the concession stand after school.
Right after he transferred, I saw him being transported to the office after he tried to break through a locked doorway - a locked doorway with a teacher in front of it. I heard the noise as his body slammed, shoulder-first into the huge metal door and I poked my head out of my classroom, to see what was going on. I saw that it was a kid I knew, so I went and tried to talk to him.
"Look", I said. "It's not worth getting into trouble over this. Just walk around like everyone else."
He swore and shook his head. "I don't feel like walking," he said.
There are two weeks and two days left in the school year. Two weeks even if you don't count the half-days for final exams. Monday, I saw this kid in the hallway. i greeted him like a long lost friend. "Remember me," I said. "I'm your English teacher." I invited him to attend class. He told me he had not been there because he was working. "Well", I said. "I think you will like the book we are getting ready to read."
I was shocked when he showed up on Tuesday. It was the first day of Catcher in the Rye . I read the first two chapters out loud. He stayed awake. He turned in his discussion questions. It was the only assignment he had turned in.
This morning, he saw me in the hall, smiled, and hugged me. Third period, he was back in class, awake, and he did his work again.
There is no reason for him to come to class with only a few days left in the school year. There is no reason for him to do this work. He is not trying to pass. He has not asked for make-up work or recovery. As far as I can tell, he's just coming to hear the story.
I read the whole thing out loud. I save it till the end so the kids are comfortable with me before they hear me reading the bad language. Today, one of my students asked if I feel like I need to pray for forgiveness after I read because of all the bad words Holden says. I thought for just a second, then I smiled and said, "No. Not at all."
his second day of turned-in work. and the answers are not in complete sentences, but they are all the right answers.
Labels: save as draft
