Last week was Red Ribbon Week. Red Ribbon Week is an awareness campaign about the dangers of drug use. The middle schools were doing a "spirit week" where they got dress up days. They had the red ribbons tied on everything. It's a thing.
Wednesday, I was at the continuation high school. Math.
Fifth period. I got a call from the office. Who had just returned from the restroom?
It was a curious question as I had a student out in the restroom, but the only student who had just gotten to class had just arrived with a tardy pass.
When the student who had been in the restroom returned to class, I got another call from the office. At this point things got clarified. Who had been out of the room? I gave the clerk those names.
About ten minutes later, the school counselor arrived. She told the two students who I had named to get their stuff and come with her. And she was not happy.
(The counselor is usually all smiles and pleasantries. The students like her. To get her stern voice was a change I was not expecting.)
A few minutes later, the boy who had actually had a restroom pass from me returned. The other boy did not.
Luckily, the next period I had a conference, so I went up to the office to ask. (Well, I went up to the office to use the restroom, but while I was there, I figured I'd find out what was up.)
The answer was succinct: "Drug deal."
The custodian happened to be walking by the restroom and looked in. He saw one boy surreptitiously hand another boy something. The clerk watched where the boys returned to and then called us teachers to get names.
Where I got confused was with the boy with the tardy pass. Apparently he had come to school late, and then instead of coming straight to class, he made a pit stop in the restroom.
And when he got to class, well, let's just say that him buying drugs in the school restroom does not surprise me. In fact, considering how he looked and acted, it made that make a whole lot more sense.
(The boy who actually had permission to use the restroom was probably just wrong place, wrong time.)
It's Red Ribbon Week. Why'd they have to do this in the specific week that's all about living drug free?
*shakes head*
Maybe the red ribbon week is a joke to them. They, after all, are cool, and invincible. Until they aren't. It's a hard, hard lesson that some don't survive.
ReplyDeleteSadly, this is true.
DeleteI don't think those awareness weeks have the affect people plan them to.
ReplyDeleteThey’re not paying attention to red ribbon week.
ReplyDeleteNope, they're not.
DeleteThe reality of it all, sigh.
ReplyDeleteThey probably got a good laugh about what week it was. Until getting caught of course. I think my neighbors two doors down are dealing drugs. Again. The police are aware, so I can only assume they are watching and waiting. I hope. Way back in 1969 during a class movie, some students were passing pills of some sort. It was 8th grade. That was unusual for middle schoolers back then. It was no surprise to me those same kids didn't amount to much by high school graduation. I have no idea what happened after that.
ReplyDeleteThey just don't get it. We try to warn them. Some of them have to learn it themselves the hard way.
DeleteWhoa. Yeah, teens (me, too at their age), do tend to think that they are invincible.
ReplyDeleteThey are oblivious to the problems. Truly.
Delete