New Month, New School

   April showers bring May flowers and a new school rotation. I am very relieved to be out of the last school I was in. Decent neighborhood and competent staff, but kids constantly on their cell phones filming, blaring music and watching videos. Packs of overage students roam the hallways, texting each other when they see an unfamiliar teacher. They all come in and refuse to show identification. If you call for a dean, no one comes. These kids curse you out and you can't turn your back on them. The intruders weren't always from the same school. I was threatened by a kid who was openly dealing drugs. I went to the dean and told him to search his bag; he told me they knew about the dealing and I could write a statement, if I so wished. He said, "You know we can't do anything, right?". Later that day, the student pointed me out to his friends and started laughing. The thugs know they have carte blanche to do whatever they wish.

   The campus building I'm in now is in a bad neighborhood and the staff collects the phones at the door. I'm having a great time actually teaching. The kids were respectful and mostly well behaved. There are staff patrolling the halls and monitoring the building. It's time to ban cell phones and restorative justice citywide.