I met Amber when she was in the 8th grade. It was the spring semester. Over the course of one week, I had her in three different classes. I wrote her up and removed her from class all three times.
(I don't write that many referrals. That I was driven to write three tells you quite a lot about her behavior on those days.)
I ran into her the next school year. I didn't notice nor remember her until I overheard her telling a friend: "That sub hates me." Still, it took a couple minutes before I placed her.
The assignment in the English class that day was to read silently. (It was Monday. Many of the English teachers do this on Mondays.) Amber put her head down on her desk. She bothered no one, so I let her be. (I was also a bit paranoid about getting her started again, so rather than confront her about not reading, I let sleeping dogs lie.)
Over the years, I've run into Amber here and there. She ignores me. I watch her. We've come to a sort of truce.
I wasn't terribly surprised when I ran into her at the continuation high school.
Just as a reminder: the continuation high school is where students who are in danger of not graduating get sent. It's where they can make up their missing credits and eventually earn a high school diploma.
Amber has mellowed over the years. I'm no longer worried about her going so wild that I have to remove her from class. But I know she hasn't forgotten 8th grade either.
The only reason I'm mentioning Amber now, though, is because I ran into her last week. She just started the reentry class.
If a student doesn't make up the credits at the continuation high school and fails to graduate "on time", reentry is the next step. These students have the opportunity to continue working on their credits and can eventually earn that high school diploma. They are over 18. But to get accepted into the class, they have several hoops to jump through, and they must make progress towards graduation.
On the one hand I'm not terribly surprised. One does not behave as Amber behaved and remain on track to graduate. But, she's matured, and the fact that she's been allowed into the reentry class means that she might just finish high school.
I hope she does.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
4 comments:
I appreciate your comments.
I respond to comments* via email, unless your profile email is not enabled. Then, I'll reply in the comment thread. Eventually. Probably.
*Exception: I do not respond to "what if?" comments, but I do read them all. Those questions are open to your interpretation, and I don't wish to limit your imagination by what I thought the question was supposed to be.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I hope she does too. I think it's a good sign that she's been accepted to the reentry class.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me sad to think what Amber's life at home must be like, because as a parent; I would NEVER let it get that far! :-(
ReplyDeleteI hope she does too. It sounds like she has a lot of unsaid issues, or maybe even a bad home life.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to assume the teacher hates you rather than admit your own problems. I'm with the rest of you. I hope she gets her diploma and gets on a good path.
ReplyDelete