Dude.

James came into my office after school and rushed over to my desk, pulling up his short-sleeved t-shirt to reveal his shoulder. "Look what I got last night!" He showed me this huge tattoo that covered the top of his shoulder (this isn't a picture of him, but I found this on the Internet and it looks just like it - I think his might have been bigger though.) It was red around the edges, being as fresh as it is and all I could say was "Geez! Did it hurt??" His response was, "Dude." (In case you don't know any teenaged boys, that can mean any number of things, but in this instance, I interpreted it to mean, "shit, yes!!")

The first day of Spring...Break.

Yesterday was the last day of school for the week - we are moving into Spring Break. I went out with a couple of friends who make me laugh and put my life in perspective (the kind who say, "get over yourself, things aren't THAT serious, are they?") One of them is Harry and the other is Donna. We all worked together at the middle school about 15 years ago, and have been great friends ever since. One is retired, the other is headed in that direction. Both of them are hilarious and neither take themselves too seriously. It's always such a welcome sight to see them sitting there, as I walk into the watering hole at the end of the week.

Heavy hearts at school.

Our attendance secretary, a fixture at school, lost her battle with cancer last night. As a school, we have rallied around Lil and her family, holding a benefit night in November, bringing in $35,000-which sounds great until a family is paying for a long battle with this insipid beast!

Karma.

Jesse wrote about Karma the other day and it got me thinking about my girls. On Christmas morning, they looked in their stockings and each found a necklace (identical to each other’s). The necklace was something Santa picked up at Target – it is a sliver, circular shape with the words: “what goes around comes around” swirling into the center. The card on which each was hung at the store had the word KARMA, artfully scripted across the top.

Teenage angst.

I know I obsess about teenage angst, but I can't help it, it is, after all, my life. I really don't mean to dwell on students who are in such pain, but I think of them all the time. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking of them, hoping they are okay, looking forward to seeing their faces at school in the morning.

Update on James.

Mom asked for a James update and I thought - "hmmm... how IS James?!" I haven't seen him in a while (which means he hasn't blown out of classes or hit anyone - that's always a good thing!) I emailed his dad and asked about him:

I'm meetinged out.

In the last two weeks, I have been at my desk, actually accomplishing something for a grand total of about three hours. If I am called to another "important" meeting, I'm going to scream.

If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will achieve, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

~Dave Barry, "Things That It Took Me 50 Years to Learn"

Running away.

Tia is a bit of work. She consistently makes bad choices, but something about her makes me really like her.

One day last week, the librarian called to report Tia had short shorts on - way too short. I had her come and talk to me...she seemed genuinely incredulous. She is about 5'3" and weighs about 90 pounds. Somebody tell me where this girl is going to find shorts that AREN'T short! The dress code calls for a 3" inseam - where (outside of the plus-sized section at Montgomery Wards) can you find a 3" inseam anymore??

Bold as brass.

Some people are bold as brass…stupidly…


Peyton came in to my office to report that his brand new, dark green, neoprene, Carhart jacket was missing and he has seen another student, Richard, wearing it today. He said he remembers taking it off at the construction site last Wednesday and he must have left it there then, but he had to be out of school Thursday and Friday. He said he looked for it Monday and Tuesday, but didn't see it and then saw another student, Richard, wearing it today.

Cocky.

I got an email from a teacher today about James. She said she was hoping he would be “less cocky” when he got back. I was stunned. It’s unbelievable to me that there are people who choose to work with young people for their entire career and yet seem to be completely oblivious to their needs.

Good news!

Good news! James is coming back tomorrow! I'm so glad his placement wasn't long term as many recently have been. I got an email from  his dad today:

James, continued.

This year has been remarkably better than last year with James. He can still be an ass to teachers, but overall, those situations are much fewer and farther between. Last week, one of our counselors came in and said she heard a rumor that James tried to commit suicide the previous weekend. I was very concerned and emailed his dad:

James and the giant... story.

Good grief... it's been a long time it seems...

I have been thinking about a student at school who I have worked with a lot. Last year James had a conflict with a teacher (who I think fanned the flames rather than tried to deescalate the situation). His dad came in and talked with me... dad didn't defend his actions, but was definitely there to support his son (as any good parent would do). Dad filled me in on the family situation.

Academic triage.

I am annoyed by people who become so fixated on something, they cannot think of anything else. Single-mindedness that prevents any sort of divided attention... I don't get it.

Bad dog.

Gunnar smiles. Not just with his cute face, but with the full body wag. He not only smiles, but he talks to you when you talk to him. If you look at him and talk - about anything... the Olympics, current tax law, Josey's flute lesson... anything at all... he vocalizes back... it's very entertaining.

And the clothes just keep getting smaller.

As the mercury rises, the modesty falls. I talked with seven different girls today who were wearing SUCH short shorts that they caused several traffic jams in the commons and caused a couple of male teachers to go home “sick.”

If only school were over when the seniors quit.

It always starts right around this time – sometimes a bit earlier depending on the weather. The minute we have a few warmish days, it strikes…and spreads like wildfire. Senioritis. I heard from a mother today who is disgusted with her son because he started the year with a 4.0 and now has a 23% in math! I talked to a mom last week whose daughter told her “when I turn 18 on Sunday, I’m moving out and quitting school.” I haven’t seen her this week.

Negativity follow-up.

As I re-read the post about the Honor Roll Assembly, I thought about what Kelly says when someone is being unbearably negative: If you gave that guy a check for a thousand dollars, he'd bitch that he had to make a trip to the bank to cash it. Yep, I'm pretty sure that mother would complain all the way to the bank...

Negativity is like a cancer.

The Honor Roll Assembly was this morning at 8:00. It's one of the events I coordinate each year - with a lot of help from the office staff. This year, the formula for sorting out the students with a 3.2 GPA or better was acting up and the secretary kept finding mistakes in it. She was on the phone to the data center trying to get to the bottom of it, and in the end, the invitations simply went out much later than they should have. So late, that parents GOT them in the mail yesterday. It was certainly far less than ideal, and I was embarrassed that my name was on the letter!

You just never know.

I’ve talked about Nick before. He’s the kid at school who is always “do-in good!”

Students in Nick’s class work on vocational skills, so Nick has a job he completes every morning. He puts two bundles of newspapers on a cart, and cuts the strap that binds them (he will mutter “ha HA! I’ve got you just where I want you now!” as he cuts the strap with scissors.) He then goes into the mailroom and puts one in the box of each teacher who subscribes to the paper.

Today, I was on the “receiving” side of the mailboxes while he and his teacher were on the “sending” side. His teacher was watching him, making sure he was doing a good job. He said to her, “This is my favorite day of the week!” She asked him, “Nick, why do you like Wednesdays so much?” He replied, “You just never know what will happen on a Wednesday.”

We need more Nicks. He’s a 90.