Teachers don't get paid enough
I have six students in my first period Literature class-- or at least I did up until a week ago. Last week I had six students and tomorrow I will have only one. And this is final exam week. I have three students currently on suspension (each for different reasons) and two students were expelled this morning for bringing a gun to school.
They brought a gun to my classroom.
Fortunately, I know that it wasn't meant for me. But I guess that's not the point. A kid who's been picked on one too many times decided it'd be cool to pack heat this morning (it's always the quiet ones you gotta watch). There are no metal detectors at my school, and anyway I teach in a trailer that's next to the parking lot. A little unnerving, I suppose. But in all honesty, I'm pretty sure his intentions were just to look tough in front of his peers.
The funny thing is that this kid (whom I have for half of the school day) realized somebody snitched on him, so he handed it off to the student next to him (Let's call him "Mark"). Mark asked for a restroom pass so that he could ditch the evidence; Only 7-8 minutes later he had still not found a trash can to his liking, so he was still walking around the main school building with it under his shirt! Mark ain't the sharpest tool in the shed. Dumb as a rock, in fact. This morning I had to help him find our country on a world map (He's 16, by the way).
Needless to say, once an administrator tracked him down he was busted, and now both kids are out of school for good. Apparently there IS something you can do to get expelled. I was beginning to wonder.
They just don't pay teachers enough, ya know it?
They brought a gun to my classroom.
Fortunately, I know that it wasn't meant for me. But I guess that's not the point. A kid who's been picked on one too many times decided it'd be cool to pack heat this morning (it's always the quiet ones you gotta watch). There are no metal detectors at my school, and anyway I teach in a trailer that's next to the parking lot. A little unnerving, I suppose. But in all honesty, I'm pretty sure his intentions were just to look tough in front of his peers.
The funny thing is that this kid (whom I have for half of the school day) realized somebody snitched on him, so he handed it off to the student next to him (Let's call him "Mark"). Mark asked for a restroom pass so that he could ditch the evidence; Only 7-8 minutes later he had still not found a trash can to his liking, so he was still walking around the main school building with it under his shirt! Mark ain't the sharpest tool in the shed. Dumb as a rock, in fact. This morning I had to help him find our country on a world map (He's 16, by the way).
Needless to say, once an administrator tracked him down he was busted, and now both kids are out of school for good. Apparently there IS something you can do to get expelled. I was beginning to wonder.
They just don't pay teachers enough, ya know it?
posted by Neil at 2:56 PM
3 Comments:
Kind of scary. Although the intent may have been harmless, things can change in a second!
Update for this post: After taking both the students into police custody and recovering the weapon they discovered that it was a pellet gun. It looked just like the real thing but wasn't. Okay, so those guys are only three quarters as dumb as I thought. They'll be in Juvenile Detention for the remainder of the week, and I suppose I'll see them in my class next semester. Ultimately that's a big relief.
The funniest thing that came out of that afternoon was when the cop on duty took out the cartridge of the gun to see if it was empty (it was) and then he pulled the trigger to show that it was harmless. Only there was one pellet in the chamber and it shot across the room, ricocheted off the desk and almost pelted the principal. That would have made for a good story ;-)
Apparently, teachers don't get to blog enough, either!???
;)
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