Working with Adjudicated Youth Part 8: The Goodbye

Que the Boyz  II Men goodbye song...
"How could I say goodbye...?"

Like this,
DEUCES!!!
PEACE OUT HOMIE!!!
I'M BUSSIN' OUT THIS JOINT!!

I jest. It wasn't as simple as I thought it would be to say so long to these young guys with whom I had been working! Throughout the program, kids had come and go without warning. Some went back home while others went to more confined settings. Some came for a day, others for a week and a couple for the entire summer! So saying "peace out homies" should've just been part and parcel of the culture of the environment. But for me, it wasn't so simple.

No, I did the break down and tear up or anything like that.

I like to stay in touch, go to sports games, contribute to their causes, support presentations, talk to their parents, text parents back, and the like. Well...this was different. No parents, games, presentations, nothing. They are in a detention facility. I couldn't visit their homes, call home, meet parents/guardians or anything like that.

On the last day they were giving their counselor grief. I thought I'd attempt to bring them back to themselves by showing them the video presentation I'd been working on about my trip to Baltimore and Freddie Gray's neighborhood. I wrote something about that when discussing the type of teaching that went on. It worked to some extent. After that, we watched and analyzed "The Blind Side". Then it was time for me to go, for the last time.

I went around, shook everyone's hand, gave them my well wishes and all. But two of the kids' reactions stood out. Most just shook hands and that was that. One of them shot me a look that said, "but why you gotta go?" This was the same one who, in a previous post, told me that he liked writing and that it comes naturally to him. He was Donatello in the last paragraph of a previous post. He was one of the few who really showed interest in learning this summer.

The other reaction that stood out was from one who had given me grief every waking second of summer and who was on the short list of those who I'd call the bane of my existence but kinda grew on me! I'm sure we've all had those types. Tap dance on your nerves, but when the dancing stops, you're like, "but...huh...oh, ok." #confused As I was making my way to the door to leave, this kid made it a point to call out from another room, "Ard Mr. Flemming!!"

"but...huh...oh, ok." #confused

I stopped. Turned around. Went to where he was. Stunned.

First, this might have been the first time he said my name all summer. I was used to being called names like "ole  head". On other days I may have been "dis  n***" or someone who was "schemin", but rarely, if ever was I "Mr. Flemming."

Second, he made it a point to get my attention. He, of all people, was one I wouldn't peg for one to make it a point to say goodbye. I shook his hand and again encouraged him to do what he could to get discharged.

Making my way through the door, I looked to my left where there was a window and one of the kids pushes back the curtains and the pic below accurately captures the scene...

I looked back, held my solidarity/power/"right on" fist up and forced myself to keep walking.

Goodbye.

Working with Adjudicated Youth Part 7: On 7/27/15 I wrote...

Sooooo......

After class I often took notes and journaled, if you can't already tell by all of the previous posts of my summer teaching experience as an English teacher of adjudicated youth. Ha!

Here are the exact words I typed into my phone after class on 7/27/15:

The focus of this class has changed so much. I've really had to be flexible. What I thought would be a traditional English course has turned out to be anything but. No shade and no fault, just the reality and that's OK. Teachers are special people with a special skill set to be able to adapt, adjust, and still aim to be effective and that doesn't come with 5 weeks of "intense" training. I hate TFA and I hate this country's attitude toward the profession!


Click on a post to read:
Working with Adjudicated Youth part 1

Working with Adjudicated Youth: Part 2 - Teaching

Working with Adjudicated Youth: Part 3 - What THEY said

Working with Adjudicated Youth, Part 4: My Old Student

Working with Adjudicated Youth, Part 5: The Connections

Working with Adjudicated Youth, Part 6: The Research

• 
  

Working with Adjudicated Youth Part 6: The Research

Only in the dusk of my days this past summer as an English teacher in a program for adjudicated youth did I even think to go all "Geeky" and look up any research on the effectiveness of juvenile detention-type educational programs. It hit me like a ton of bricks one night, so much so that I stopped the eye-lid closing process, pulled my Samsung tablet to me and started looking to see what was out there.

Not much came of my cursory search that night. I did come across this (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3314708/#!po=20.1613) and started reading before I ZZZZZZzzzzzed!

I also started following the twitter account below. As a newbie to teaching and working in juvenile detention facilities, albeit for a month, I wasn't aware of any of the discourses surrounding these spaces nor of any possible sound pedagogy or even hints at implications for teaching in these spaces.

Tweets by @JuvLaw1975

Working with Adjudicated Youth Part 4: My Old Student

Just in case you are just tuning in. This past summer I had the opportunity and privilege to be a summer English teacher in a program for adjudicated youth. I took lots of notes on my computer and phone as this experience was new to me. I've been writing about it and divided the posts into parts. The "parts" are not indicative of any type of sequence of events this summer, just different aspects of the experience.

You can revisit earlier posts by clicking on a part. Part 4 (below) deals with my reconnecting with a former student while working this summer.

Part 1   Part 2    Part 3

With some minor edits, including pseudonyms, here are the exact words that I wrote after I had the chance to catch up with a former student this past summer where I worked:

Just saw Jimmy Neutron here at the facility!!!! Here’s the thing, I came downstairs and heard someone dropping some knowledge on these boys. Was good stuff about what it really means to be locked up and how he didn’t want to see them there. He was speaking from experience. I listened for a few minutes as the talk was coming to a close. I look up and who is it dropping science on this young bols but JIMMY NEUTRON!!! I was sooooo proud to hear him talking like that.

We chatted and caught up!! He then proceeded to inform the kids and the adults that I was his teacher and he seemed so very proud!! I was proud to call him my student and how he had grown! He told them of the writing punishments and how he hated reading growing up and now loves it. He asked about Ms. ---, Mr. ---. He said the only two teachers he remembers were me and ----.

He told {Leonardo} to tell the others to fall back if they start disrespecting me. I hinted that he {Leonardo} was among them and he admitted to it. I can respect that. He said, “Yeah, I do be disrespecting him.” Jimmy Neutron said, “chill, he good folks, that’s my teacher from back in the day when I was a young bol.”

It was so good to catch up with him and to hear him drop science on these kids!

I gave {Donatello} a shout out to Jimmy Neutron. He seemed to like the recognition. {Donatello} then told me he likes writing. It comes natural. He was genuine and smiling as he was telling me. He was proud of the shout out that I gave him to this older former student, Jimmy Neutron. Jimmy Neutron had their respect on a level that was different from the one they gave me and it seemed to work.

Working with Adjudicated Youth, Part 3: What THEY said

This past summer I had the opportunity and privilege to work with adjudicated youth.

You can read the first two parts of my little blog series Working with Adjudicated Youth. In these posts I'm not offering advice, just sharing my experience as a first time summer English teacher of adjudicated youth in a detention facility.

Part 1

Part 2

The following are some random things I either heard or were said to me directly.

They are random and I wrote them down as soon as I heard them. For some reason or another, I didn’t want to forget them.

“See, this is why I like football. You can take out all your anger!” (reaction while watching The Blind Side)

“But I am a n---“ (~Latin American young man)

“It’s almost like jail. It’s like slavery.” (reaction while watching Amistad)

“I got to read everything before I sign it.” (attendance sheet)

“I aint signing Mr. Flemming’s” “I don’t like him” (my attendance sheet)

“Can’t wait until the judge says ‘discharge’. Leaving and won’t turn back.”

“I can’t wait to show the judge.” (particular journal entry)

“I’m not colored.” (~Latin American young man)

“Mr. Flemming, can you take us outside?” (from a kid who gave me his butt to kiss all summer)

“He may seem like a nice guy, but he can get out his bag” (one counselor to another who hadn’t met me)

“Yeah, go home ole head.”

1^st day

Kid: I’m not going to be here long

Me: Good!! I wish you all the best.

Kid: Thank you sir

“Yeah, I do be disrespectin him.” (kid, somewhat contrite, referring to me to a former student who was older than the rest of them and present on this day - more on him in a future post)

“Chill, he good folks, that’s my teacher from back in the day when I was a young bol.”

(former student referring to me while imparting knowledge to the younger teens and preteens)

“I like writing. It comes natural.”

“Yoo! You got The Bully?  That’s my favorite book! Have you read {other books in the Bluford series}?”

“I like {book title—I forget} by Walter Dean Myers.”

Working with Adjudicated Youth: Part 2 - Teaching

Part 1 served more as an intro into the new teaching experience I had this summer, working in a juvenile facility with youth who allegedly committed various crimes---adjudicated youth.

You may have read in that prior post about how I quickly discovered that I would have free reign to design and teach, pretty much what I wanted. All of the lessons and the unit needed to be based on the PA Common Core (blah). I complied, submitting lesson plans weekly, a unit plan in the beginning of the summer and all of that jazz. Nothing came back disapproved, so I continued.

I titled the unit: African American Literature and History
Admittedly, I did not go in any kind of sequence or focus on a sharper theme. I tried to think of not-so-well-known-to-them facts/events/people for us to read about, discuss, etc.

Some of the topics:

• The Watts riots (article and discussion)
• Henry "Box" Brown (book and discussion)
• Peaceful v. violent protests (discussion)
• Ruby Bridges (discussion)
• businesses and their "serving" of colored people - in the basement or out back
• etc

Journal entries and discussions of quotes such as:

• "The whole world opened to me when I learned to read." ~Mary McLeod Bethune
• Why people riot (journal entry and discussion)
• Letters to the 5 year old me
• etc

Just some of the titles we read were:

• Mother to Son by Langston Hughes (I remember a GREAT discussion we had with this and how they applied it to their own lives!!! Warmed all my teacher insides! Good stuff!)
• Harlem by Langston Hughes
• The Day I Ordered a Cup of Coffee by Franklin McCain (lunch counter protests)
• etc

We also viewed and analyzed films in a way that the guys may never have analyzed or seen the films before. Films such as Amistad, Remember the Titans, The Blind Side, and The Butler. All were interested in the two football movies and contributed to the discussions. A few were interested in Amistad and The Butler. Those who were interested, did a great job of participating while the others slept.

Their summer project involved them developing questions about their top two rappers; questions about their life and questions about their music. The older ones seemed to like this better than the younger ones. I learned names I had never even heard of before. Lil Durk, PnB Rock among others.
(Listen, I'm more of a Gospel music/classical music guy. That's my flavor. But I listened, I researched. I learned. Intriguing.)

On my final day of teaching, the last day of the program, we talked about Baltimore, the death of Freddie Gray and the subsequent violence that followed. I was putting together a presentation that included pictures from the scenes as the looting and rioting occurred and on my trip down to Baltimore, this when the guys came in. I showed them my work in progress (90% complete, but complete enough, with music). This generated discussion and a continuation of our previous discussion on riots and why people do it.

So many great moments, they all cannot be captured here! They are some very intelligent boys and overall were great to work with. Many are very articulate and I had no preconceived notions otherwise. I didn't know what to expect, it was all new. (I hope you don't teach with preconceived notions about your students! I hope not!)

"Sir" "Mister" "Good morning" "Have a good afternoon". For some, this was how they spoke. For others, once they heard me use the terms, they adopted them as well.

There were some frustrating moments. Seriously. All guys. All believing they had street cred. All tough as nails. And each believing he had the biggest set. It comes with the territory and won't be the primary focus of my posts. (Although there was that one time that they saw the real Mr. Flemming, so much so it stunned one of the counselors. Two wanted to fight. Flem showed up, 6', 220lbs. Silence. Uhhh, the biggest set goes to....yup...)

lol

More to come...

Working with Adjudicated Youth part 1

This summer I had the opportunity and ultimately what I'm going to call a privilege to work with adjudicated youth, specifically "tween" and teen boys. As a summer English teacher for a School District/Department of Human Services/Non-Profit/Title 1/ / / / / / program, I was to teach English to youth roughly ages 13-17 who had been.....well.....adjudicated. Most any crime that an adult would commit, they allegedly committed.

Having discovered that there "may be some materials over there", I quickly realized that I would have free reign to design and implement my own unit/curriculum. Cool!! (Note: There were materials at the site, by the way.)

Title: African American History and Literature
This would be the focus of the teaching/learning experience this summer.

Because I found out about this teaching gig the day before I was to stand in front of students, I also realized that this would be a constant work in progress, a lot of thinking on my feet, constant---wait, how does Siri say it--"rerouting"?? Yes. A lot of that. Not a problem. I'm up to the challenge. Even if I start very traditional with worksheets, short reading passages, and discussions, all Afrocentric, this would be it for a day or so while I got a lay of the land, the conditions, the terrain and just how working in a detention-type facility works.

Uh oh!!
So, I know teaching and learning and consider myself a pretty good teacher who diligently works at being better, I was not prepared, however, for the mentality of some of the youth. Despite the fact that I've been a youth worker/teacher/mentor/program director, etc. since I was a youth, it was never in an environment like this.

I didn't even know enough to know that I wasn't aware of what of what I wasn't aware of. Ha!! Riddle me that!!

One example:
I wasn't prepared for their genuine beliefs that some of their wrongs (not crimes, but the in-class type) would somehow be my fault. Their "conversations" (more like a cuss the teacher out--literally and point accusatory fingers) revealed that they really believed their hurling various projectiles through the air (some directed at me) was really my fault when one of the counselors would call them on it. They really believed that signing aliases on official documents (which they had never done, but decided to do this on a particular day) and being called on it was really my fault.  I kid you not. Sounds ludicrous? Yes!

One session ended up being "group" (something like group therapy, rap session, talking, etc. for those unfamiliar with the term). I listened intently as they were given space to talk without fear of some punishment. What I heard, through all of the diatribes, was, "I really don't want to be here."

My 'listening tour' continued all summer and was weaved into the very fabric of the instruction. Whether they were conversing with me, each other, times when I wasn't teaching, with my partner teacher, with the counselors, at lunch, wherever, I listened. I wanted to learn as much as possible about them, their beliefs, and somehow use what I learned to better my approach as a teacher of adjudicated youth in a detention facility.

Why mention the "...of adjudicated youth in a detention facility" part? Because teaching and reaching these youth is a different experience. The overall culture, from what I gleaned as an outsider, seems to be naturally created when a group of students, most of whom allegedly/admittedly/supposedly committed serious crimes are put together in a space---that experience is different. Different from teaching and reaching youth in a typical classroom setting. More challenging? I wouldn't even draw that conclusion. Maybe I'll lay out the similarities and differences in part 2, 3, 4, or 5 (or later).

There are most posts that will follow.
Some will reflect on the positive teaching/learning experiences as we analyzed movies like The Butler, Amistad, The Blind Side, and Remember the Titans. 

Others will be things that I've heard them say or do that are really worth remembering.

One post will be dedicated to a former student (no face, no trace) of mine who surprised me and made me very proud one day!!

I took quite a bit of notes this summer. Some were my frustrations, but those won't be the focus of future posts. There were really positive experiences that came out of the negative circumstances that landed many of these young men to where we were and I hope to do well by them in writing about them. Again, no face, no trace. No names will be mentioned. I respect the privacy of these youth and their counselors.