Idiosycratic Life

My day began yesterday with my being late to school. (it's so weird to say that and not say "late to class" or "late to work.") As I was taking Bella on her morning walk, I saw a loose, collared, and tagged, but bedraggled dog. My neighbor, also a dog-owner, was trying to catch it by tempting the dog with food. Apparently, the dog belongs to another neighbor who only just adopted him three days ago. The dog, "Toby," got away on the first day and people have been looking for him ever since. I tied Bella to a lamppost, and joined the capture operation.

Ten minutes and two near misses with cars later, we get pretty close to the dog. The first time we met, I told the Helpful Neighbor about how I found Bella in the rose bushes, and how I finally got her to be calm enough to let me near her and pick her up by saying, "cellar door" over and over again, which Stephen maintains is the most soothing combination of words in the English language. After 15 minutes of repeating, "Here, puppy.... good dog... it's okay, sweetie," my neighbor was like, "What was that prase you said to Bella?" So I tried it. Three "cellar doors" later, and I was able to get Toby's collar.

His owner was thrilled to se him, as she had just said a lot of money for him three days ago. When we returned him, she happened to mention that she had also lost a second dog in the meantime and asked us to keep an eye for him. I think she meant well; (these are purebred dogs, I think), she really tried to find them, and I think it was just an accident, but sheesh. By the way, Bella the Chatterbox, unused to being tied to a lamppost during her morning walk, cheerfully took it upon herself to personally wake up everyone in the surrounding apartments. Grrrrr....

Anyway...

Yesterday, I taught one of the most challenging classes I have yet encountered (although not as bad as the team of 7th graders who threw milk at me). They have not seen their regular teacher since mid-October. They have blown threw substitute teachers like toilet paper at White Castle. They now have a long term sub, who seems like he's doing fine, but he has been out for two weeks getting married and going on his honeymoon. They have had a different sub, for the most part, every day that he has been gone. There is a faint sense of organization still lingering in the classroom, the way the smell of wet wool, chalk, and eraser dust clings to your clothes at the end of the day, but basically, it's complete anarchy.

They told me, the first second I was in that room, without question, that I would hate them, that they were the dumbest class in the school, that everyone hates them. Honestly, there were moments that I did feel so frustrated with them that I wanted to scream, but I didn't hate them. They hate themselves.

The girls are really into cliques, and the cliques are nasty to each other. That's normal for 6th graders- I remember it like it was yesterday- but it's like watching packs of wild dogs battle for territory. And they (the whole class, not just the cliques) are mercilessly cruel. They all pick on one girl in particular. It is absolutely relentless. She is not an innocent victim in this; she definitely instigates things. She got into a fight with another girl, who definitely has issues, and I tried to sit them down and mediate and talk about making a fresh start and about handling things like the Young Women they are. I doubt it will last long.

The schools all have these buzz words- tests are "assessments," homework is "independent practice;" candy is a "motivational reward." They all have Zero Tolerance policies about bullying and weapons, etc. So a child with a set of nail clippers is suspended, shop classes- Excuse me, "technology education"- are no longer allowed to make screwdrivers, but I hear someone called a "fag/queer/gay" in, literally, no exaggeration, the first five minutes of every class period, every day, in every school district, in every grade level above 5th grade. So homophobia is silently sanctioned, don't even get me started on racism- ahem, social studies textbooks, anyone?- and children think it's okay to taunt one child constantly about having lice, being dirty, smelling bad, when she is perfectly fine as far as I can tell- shiny hair, clean clothes, no noticable B.O.- which frankly, is NOT the case for some of the aggressors. Sigh....

It makes me sad. It makes me want to home-school my children, or start my own non-patriarchal, egalitarian, "realistic about this country's past" school someday. Sigh....