I’m sure at one point you’ve been a student or are now the parent of a student so, ideally, you have some idea of what it’s like to be in the classroom. You know that said student should pay attention in class, do some homework, speak up during class discussion, write some essays, do some experiments, and then graduate. Being a student is not hard.
Do you know what makes it hard?
When you cuss me out when I ask to see your pass.
When you throw your pencil across the room and then get up to get said pencil, seven times in a row.
When you keep poking the girl in front of you with a pen.
When you run away from me when I ask to see your pass.
When you play your music on your phone, during class, while we’re taking notes, and there is literally no other sound in the room.
When you keep asking questions about my personal life when I ask, “Any questions?” which is obviously a question that is directly correlated to the course material.
When you refuse to work with a classmate based on their race.
When you flip me off when I ask to see your pass.
When you refuse to listen to me when I say, “please don’t touch anyone.”
When you smoke in the bathroom.
When you refuse to get out a pencil.
When you pretend to have done the reading.
When you slap a girl in class, then run back to your seat, all while I’m dealing with another situation on the opposite side of the room.
When you ignore me when I ask to see your pass.
When you fart in class.
When you use a Sharpie and draw images of the male anatomy.
When you keep touching her hair, even though I have asked you to stop nine times.
When you punch a locker after I ask you to remove your hat.
When you check Instagram every two minutes.
When you sleep in class because you’ve worked until 2:00 a.m. to help pay the rent in your grandmother’s apartment.
When you don’t have someone at home telling you that school matters.
When you don’t have money to eat lunch and you’re hungry.
When you miss the school bus because you just cannot face the ridicule today.
When you watch your mom do drugs and then expects you to care for your younger siblings.
When you have to miss school again so you can go to your father’s job and translate so he can receive the benefits he and his family deserve.
When you move from homeless shelter to homeless shelter because the system is so broken that you have been forgotten.
When you are being abused but have no one to talk to because you feel like “teachers just don’t understand.”
When you cannot study because there is too much fighting in your home.
When you cannot use a textbook because the state will not provide one for you or your classmates.
When you sell drugs at school because you need gas money to get to your more socially accepted job.
When you fight at school because your name has been dishonored and your reputation is the only thing you can control.
When you cuss out a teacher because the only way you have been taught to be heard is through volume and four letter words.
When you mock fellow classmates because you are so uncomfortable in your own skin.
When you force your partner into a sexual relationship so you feel like at least one person loves you.
When you refuse to make an appointment with a guidance counselor because all she talks about are your “A” grades when all you want to talk about is the broken home you are going home to each night.
When you act like the class clown even though you are filled with self-loathing.
When you wear revealing clothing because you just want someone to notice you today.
When you are waiting for the late bus funding to come through so you can stay after school and get extra help from teachers because you cannot fail sophomore year, again, and you need to eventually get out of the hood.
When you are a victim of the public education system and you are socially promoted and yet, you cannot read beyond a third grade level.
Being a student is hard. And being a 16 year old dealing with issues I, a responsible adult, have never, and probably will never face, is hard. Are some students in complete control of their own actions? Sure. Are there usually greater, unknown circumstances that influence every student’s behavior? Yes. Let this serve as a reminder to me and anyone else that this life is hard and that love and grace, towards my students, my coworkers, and my neighbors, are probably the only things I should be fighting for each day.
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