1:30 p.m. - Monday, Apr. 18, 2011
Tyrone
We were in the classroom for a month, and over the course of our 11 days, we only saw him 3 times. Is that his fault? Is a 9-year-old responsible for getting himself to school? So of course he was far behind. Of course his homework is incomplete. How can he do the work when he wasn't there when the material was taught? And who would help him at home? The mother or father who can't be bothered to put him on the bus in the morning?
But there she was, lecturing him in front of the whole class about how he'll end up working at KFC . . .just like his mother.
When it was time for math, he sat there staring at the board with a glazed look on his face. "I don't know how to do this," he said to me. We're not supposed to help students during the "Do Now" . . .but she is also supposed to give him a different "Do Now" because he hasn't covered this material yet. But she hasn't. She's too busy putting her grades into the computer at the last minute.
I showed him the steps, and he copied what I did. I was just writing some extra examples in his notebook for him to practice when she noticed what I was doing. "Now is not the time for instruction, Ms. F!" And she launched into another lecture. I wondered when WOULD BE the time for instruction. Apparently, never.
So he sat there, at his empty desk, staring into space . . .learning nothing for the entire rest of the day. Who cares if he comes to school? He doesn't matter to anyone.
This placement became personal to me. I felt personally insulted, personally irritated and angry, personally responsible for what was happening.
She knows what she's doing. She has her master's degree. She successfully controls the classroom. The students respect her. Her classroom is an example of a balanced literacy curriculum. She is transparent with her students.
But I don't give a shit.
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