What a kid said to me about foster care

As I reflected on this past week and a particular moment in the classroom, I tweeted this out.

GM! Trying to figure out a way to share how a student got my tear ducts to...you know....'duct'...they didn't fall, just ducted🥺 pic.twitter.com/UvH6dIfaGF

— Dr. Stephen R. Flemming (@kellygrade6) January 24, 2020

That moment came during the closing credits of "The Help", which we watched and analyzed in our drama class. This is the song that plays as the credits roll...



As the song played, the class was completely quiet, taking it every moment of what they just saw and the lyrics of this song. As the song was playing, one 10th grade brother, reflecting on Aibileen's extreme disappointment at having to leave Mae Mobley, whispered to me, "That's how it be in foster care. As soon as you be with a family you love, you gotta leave."

If the song and its lyrics weren't already to getting to me, his whispered words while it was playing sealed the deal. "That's how it be in foster care. As soon as you be with a family you love, you gotta leave."

This isn't the first time a student said something to me that agitated my allergies. One year a 3rd grader bear-hugged me and cried. He, too, was in foster care and missed his mother. Another year, a 6th grader, cussed me out and stormed out of the room. I didn't respond. He came early the next morning and read me a long apology letter. In it, he detailed all of the male family members who were locked up and how his aunt didn't understand him. He ended that long letter with, "And Mr. Flemming, you the last one I got left to look up to!" {insert extreme pollen in springtime}

We must build up enough of a rapport and relationship with our students such that, if they so choose, they can come to us and help us better understand their outbursts, absences, perceived apathy, and ___________. Sometimes the content must give up its seat to just some listening, no advice, no suggestions, just listening.

"That's how it be in foster care. As soon as you be with a family you love, you gotta leave."
"And Mr. Flemming, you the last one I got left to look up to!"

Black Boys and Their Durags: A Lesson for Teachers

My cousin and colleague in a neighboring district, Mrs. Malikah Upchurch, is out here schooling teachers on Black boys and their durags with this social media post right here. Read it. Then re-read it. Then pause before you whip out those pink slips, office disciplinary referrals, or whatever schools are calling them these days.

In her words... 

Random thought:

I need for everyone to understand how culturally significant durags are. Sure, they may look a little silly, but do you all understand just how important they are? I haven’t finished reading this most recent book yet, but the author wrote, “the little brown prince with a stocking cap for a crown.” I can appreciate the desire and determination to get “waves.” Whenever I’ve asked someone to remove their durag, it has only been to see their results and/or to clown them for not using product to support the process. Like, when you really think about it, it’s a beautiful process and people feel accomplished when they reach the point where they can brag about their waves. That is an important part of being a black boy. I’m here it. Now that we know just how important they are, just consider what you’re about to say the next time you tell someone to remove it. I know you all feel like the children aren’t representing appropriately, and policy is policy, but first give props to that kid for their determination. My son isn’t even consistent enough in getting his waves. When a boy gets them, that’s a major event. Should be celebrated - a rite of passage! “Okay, I see you, buuuut...” Just please don’t criminalize something so culturally significant (that’s especially important for those who look like them because some of our elders can be super harsh). 

That’s that. That’s my talk about durags. Feel free to chime in!

Courtesy of Malikah Upchurch

Authentic Teacher-Annotated Texts

"You writin' in the book really helped me a lot!"

One of my approximately 16-year-old Black male students said this to me today as we were beginning class. He borrowed a book from our class library last week. Apparently, it was a book in which I annotated quite frequently. I didn't realize that I placed my annotated edition out for them to borrow. When Sean (pseudonym) said this to me, however, he gave me insight into how best he and others may learn.

As English teachers, we show our students how to annotate including how to organize their annotations. Of course, we provide examples on the screen or may even distribute examples we've prepared. But this wasn't that. I wrote in the book for my own personal reasons.

Actual personal annotations from The Soloist by Steve Lopez

Sean got me to thinking. Annotations on a cold read where a student is reading a text independently and not in preparation for our traditional interrogation of the text? I think he may have given me, because I know you've already been illuminated, some insight into literary practices that could be helpful for struggling teenage readers.

1. Create authentic teacher-annotated versions of short texts (i.e. newspaper clippings or poems) in addition to making non-annotated versions available. Note: this would NOT be for the purpose of showing students how to annotate text, per se, as this was not my purpose in the example above.

2.  Make teacher-annotated books available in the class libraries and indicate that they are annotated. I'm going to have to figure that one out because I love my books and the notes I've taken in them. {insert Black thinking emoji and a hmmmmm thought cloud...no lightbulbs yet}

3.  Create an atmosphere where students, and in this case a Black male student, feel comfortable:
a--borrowing the books that are for them, as books, in my opinion, should be 'please touch and take'
     Note: He saw, he asked, he took...no problem
b--letting you know that they are reading and enjoying the book, and
     Note: He approached me, unsolicited
c--letting you know how they are thriving with the book
     Note: He approached me, unsolicited

Just how do you a, b, and c?
1.  Allow them to borrow the books. If you don't want to lend them, don't display them.
2.  Allow them to approach you. Let's stop with the feigned, "I feel threatened" stuff. Sean wants to tell you about the book he's reading.
3.  If you really care about them, they'll know it and neither a, b, nor c, will be an issue. If you don't care about them, they'll know that too. Thing is, students, especially today, have this funny little way of showing you how they feel about you. Just sayin...

I'm not perfect, I'm striving. I'm also still learning everyday that teaching is not a simple algorithm!

The People's Court

It's Tuesday, Decemeber 26, 2017. I'm sitting on my couch having just finished my lunch. (Just in case you are wondering, it was a chicken salad and spinach mini-hoagie on a wheat roll, a bag of spicy nacho Doritos, a cookie, and raspberry ice tea.)

I'm watching The People's Court with Judge Milian. The plaintiff in one case, Jason Smith, was suing a man who reneged on a payment for boat and car detailing services that the plaintiff provided. Mr. Smith, a 30-something year old Black man was a bit animated and "antsy" while presenting his case. Judge Milian commented on his restlessness twice before telling him to have a seat because he was irritating her (her words).

I can understand how his animation and his being ansty might be a little unnerving. That's life. Sometimes people's voices, mannersims, habits, personalities, etc. annoy us. Her annoyance with Mr. Smith becomes a little precarious, however, because of her position of power being the judge. For all intents and purposes, he kind of has to do what she says. He did sit down as ordered.

You already know where I'm going. Black male students experience disproportionate representation in school discipline (suspension and expulsion) and in special education, particularly in high incidence categories like emotional behavioral disorders and learning disabilities.

I wonder if many of our colleagues, to whom the balance of power tilts in the student/teacher relationship, are just annoyed with our young African American male students. 🤔

I wonder if instead of finding ways to teach how he best learns, some of us de facto embrace exclusionary pedagogical stances or default to special education referral processes.🤔

"Well, we can't just think about our African American male students! What about our female students or boys and girls of other ethnic groups?"

The overrepresentstion of our Black male students in suspension and expulsion tracts and in high incidence special education tracts tells me we haven't been thinking about our African American male students too much at all.

Jason Smith won his case. Many of our young Black men are also winning in the classroom, in boardrooms, in business, in college, and in life. As with many brothers with whom I speak, *our* winning isn't enough, though. We want all of our young brothers to experience success as well. The classroom, from preschool onward, is one of many places to scrutinize and mobilize.

Conscientious Ear-hustlers

According to the U.S. Department of Education (2014), Black boys are suspended and expelled from school at higher rates than boys of other ethnicities. The scholarship is also rife with the fact that Black boys are also overrepresented in special education (Bryan & Ford, 2014 and many others). Speaking of special education, one research study suggests that some teachers make judgement calls about special education for Black boys based on how they walk (Neal, McCray, Webb-Johnson, & Bridgest, 2003). Yes, you read that correctly. Walk.

As we embark upon a new school year, let's rethink what we know about teaching and learning as it relates to our young Black male students. While it would be nice to see an increase in the number of Black male educators in our public schools (a notion I embrace, advocate for, and work behind the scenes with brothers on), this as the sole solution to the problem oversimplifies the complex and systemic nature of the problem that exists, that being the other 'r' in our school systems, racism. Sometimes it's subtle and at other times it's right there in our not-so-subtle policies and practices (ahem, Zero Tolerance) in schools. While I am a huge proponent of a diversified workforce, especially when it comes to Black men who will be effective in the profession, we cannot sit and wait. We cannot wait because some of our well-meaning colleagues may feel absolved of their responsibility to even try to work with our young Black brothers if we do so. No ma'am, no sir, no absolution here.

Want to know how Black boys learn best?

Ask. Do not believe for one second that they do not have opinions about how they like to learn. Ask them. Working together? Listening to music in the background? Alone?

Observe. Be conscientious in your ear-hustlin' (eavesdropping) and in your overall observations. You can learn a lot by sitting in the cut, shutting up, and watching. 

Make meaning of what you see and hear. When making that meaning, however, you must converse with your students, with their parents, with other adults who know them and are familiar with the culture and customs of the students with whom you work. Making meaning in a bubble may only solidify incorrect interpretations of what you're observing.

In short, be a student of your students!

Even for me, being a "brotha" and fully invested in this calling, I found myself asking my summer high school students questions about language, music, and ways of thinking. In a subsequent conversation with my sister, who also teaches, we spoke about how I made attempts to incorporate my new found knowledge into the classroom. Because of the nature of the summer work, the conversation with those young men was the way that I incorporated it into the classroom. I was their student for 10 minutes.

We've been rehashing the same trite pedagogy long enough. We've been narrow-minded in our chase of test scores and those ever elusive and mutable levels of proficiency long enough. Let's stop the insanity and learn how our young Black boys learn best and adjust accordingly. Yes, there may be pushback. But if a little pushback is the worst that can happen and we teach using a paradigm and pedagogy that is liberating and relevant for them, let them push! 

References

United States Department of Education. (2014, March). Civil rights data collection: Data snapshot: School discipline (Issue Brief No. 1). Washington, D.C.: Office for Civil Rights.

Bryan, N. & Ford, D. (2014). Recruiting and retaining black male teachers in gifted education. Gifted Child Today 37(3), 156-161. doi:10.1177/107621751453011

Neal, L., McCray, A., Webb-Johnson, G., and Bridgest, S. (2003). The effects of African American movement styles on teachers’ perceptions and reactions. Journal of Special Education, 37(3), 49-57

When the Students Become the Teachers

I honestly believe that the longer I'm in this game, the more emotional I get. There are highs and lows of this (and any) profession. I choose not to focus on too many of the lows when I tweet, blog, and post. I choose to change that narrative and let the world know all the good that comes out of my very public neighborhood elementary school. Today, a student from another class had to come and spend time in my classroom. To see some of my guys assume the role of big brother, that did something to me just a little bit.

The kid made his way to one of the carpet areas (eventually) and laid down. One boy put a jacket over him, got a book, pulled up a chair and started reading to him. He was calm. Two more boys came and did the same.  I continued to teach and learn with the rest of the class, pulling them over to another section of the classroom so that we wouldn't disturb each other in our literary experiences.

Let that marinate.

I want to be a teacher just like you

Consider this a post script to a recent post that concluded with my being proud to be a Black male teacher in public schools.

Today, a few moments ago, I had three of my boys back for a little detention. As they were straightening up the classroom, one of them asked, "Mr. Flemming, when did you know you wanted to teach?"

Me: All my life!

Him: Since you was a kid?

Me: Yes.

Him: What you gotta do to become a teacher?

Me: Graduate high school, go to college, and major in education. You want to be a teacher?

Him: (nodding yes)

Me: That's good stuff, don't let nobody talk you out of it!

Him: I've been having dreams the past week about me teaching. In my dreams, I was you up here teaching and whatnot, except all that stuff (referring to a junky table off to the side). I was saying all your stuff and all that. And you was my mentor. But I know I gotta get a job and start saving now.

Me: That works. But also get good grades, because there are academic scholarships out there. That's why I tell y'all all the time to focus on school. Now you might change your mind between now and college and that's fine, but don't let anyone talk you out of it!

The Unseen Real: Nobody Else

Several years ago, Earl Brown (pseudonym) was a young man in my class. He started cussin' and swearin' before storming out of the classroom. Realizing that Earl had never done this before, I did not get upset. I did not write him up for the infraction, nor was Earl suspended or otherwise disciplined. The next morning before class, Earl made his way to our classroom and read to me a letter of apology that he wrote the previous night. He said that it was easier for him to do it this way. (And if memory serves me correctly, he apologized to the class later.) But in the letter that he read to me he detailed the enigma that was his life experience.

I sat in melancholic astonishment as he listed event after event, situation after situation that occurred in his life. I was also astonished at his level of trust in me to hear him out. He ended his letter with, “Mr. Flemming, you the last one I got left to look up to.” That messed me up! Badly! I kept it together until he left for the school yard, but I had real bad "allergies" that morning before class (3 minutes until I had to pick them up) and on the bus ride home that afternoon. The events of the previous day, his explosion, was a tipping point!

Now, Earl’s blow up and storming out could have easily been noted on a pink slip with some form of school discipline to follow. That would have been the logical next step for any school personnel who would have been in that situation. I get it. My exhortation to my colleagues around the nation, but especially those of us who have the privilege of teaching in urban areas and with boys who share my hue, my advice is to push the 'pause' button. Take a step back and listen to what he may not be telling you. The thing is, he may NEVER tell you. And that's ok. Just know that Tylenol isn't a panacea. Pink slips and suspensions aren't always the answer. Each situation is different and may require a different approach. So before you pick up that pen and pink slip, push pause.

The Unseen Real: 2k16

Let's set the scene

The kid was throwing a violent tantrum, insolently incorporating single-syllable four letter words into a diatribe directed at a staff member who had just rejected his request. What I heard in my ears was louder than this profanity-laced vitriolic tirade, however. What I heard was a kid who was sick of adults making promises they, for whatever reason, did not or could not keep. He said as much. But before he indicated what the real issue was, I heard and saw that there was something deeper than what I was witnessing. So I sat and watched as he did....'him'. Another staff member stood and did the same. Just chilled.

Some teachers would have gone straight to labels, medicine, psychologists, psychiatrists, blah blah blah. After a few minutes, he turned on NBA 2K16 and invited me to play. I just messed up someone's theology with that one right there!! A game?? After what he did and said?? Yes. I cannot discuss it further.

But yes, he said, "Ayo Mr. Flemming play me!" Huh? Who me? Ha!! The last system I touched as Super Nintendo and before that, Atari!! Needless to say, I was a little intimidated. He offered to teach me, though. I sat. We switched roles. The teacher became the student and the student became the teacher. But there was something unseen going on. There was something more real than the obvious; the switching of roles and me learning how to play NBA 2K16 with this 14-year-old master teacher in charge. Unseen though it may have been, real nonetheless. This kid didn't need a diagnosis and subsequent prognosis. He needed calm-osis, listening-ear-osis, strong-older-brotha-osis! Before I left, in less than 15 seconds I encouraged him to "be cool", "chill", and to try not to explode like that again. He understood and in his way consented.

I wonder how many of our Black boys are being pushed through the school-to-prison pipeline because adults are being Tylenol, only looking to address symptoms.

Are you a Tylenol teacher?

Shoutout on Youtube! I'm humbled!

So, it's a Saturday evening and one thing that I'm involved in had me looking for pictures of John B. Kelly School online since my phone was being all technological!! {angry emoji}

As I was perusing the Internet, I happened upon a video and recognized the parent of one of my former students on Youtube. So I clicked! I can't tel you how much this video almost "messed me up" in my eye area!!

It's less than four minutes, watch til the end!

Ms. Kane, you are more than welcome!!!
Aden was such a joy to have!! I wrote about him last year this time! He's THE resident historian of the class!!

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

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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 5: The Connections

To reiterate what’s already been posted, this summer I was an English teacher for a program that served adjudicated youth. I’ve recalled the experiences in various "parts" which are available for you to read in the list of posts for August, 2015 all beginning with “Working with Adjudicated Youth…”

I believe excellent teachers are those who not only have book knowledge, but also those who are able to make and sustain, to some degree, connections with his/her students. I strive to be an excellent teacher, because each student I teach, deserves one!

This summer was no exception. Early on as I was still figuring out how this would work and testing the waters, we read a poem that my middle school kids of yester-year enjoyed. It wasn’t anything African-American related, but was on another “cool” topic, BUGS!!! The poem is titled, “Insect Logic”. We read it. Later I rapped it to their beats! We had a blast. I followed up a couple of days later by bringing in my class pets, four Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches!

Pics of our pets in my regular classroom (top) and at my home (bottom)

(((BAM))) A connection!! One kid was really looking forward to seeing them and another wished to God that I wouldn’t bring them! But all were at least curious and talking about these….roaches!

On the day I brought them in, the one kid who was looking forward to seeing them went all in! Opening the enclosure, he picked one up and handled it, observed it, and really wanted to engage in a conversation about it (them). The other hard core, macho, “thugs” cowered before the insects. They’re here for serious crimes but are squeamish around the class pets! LOL!!! I wish I could’ve take a picture of the reactions, of the hiding behind the teacher, of the “ayo dawg, put that jawn back in the jawn yo! They tryna sleep! They come out a night!” That was a good day!

UNfortunately, the kid who didn’t want to see them was due in court and was absent from class. Upon returning the next day and finding out that he missed out on the visitors, “Yoooo, I’m so *%&^ glad I wasn’t here yo!! NOW ole ‘head, can’t get me!”

I brought them back the next day.

He was there the next day.

He would have NOTHING to do with me!!!! LOL!!!!

Me, “NOW young bol, GOTCHU!!” lol

In addition to the bugs, I found that whenever they were a bit obnoxious on a particular day and I was determined to teach the few who were attentive, the discussions on Black History brought them right back in. Let me set up the scene. There may have been 9 or 10 in the class. 7 may have been in their bag that day. The 3 who wanted me to teach would be attentive and I would teach. The 7 would slowly come around to either calming down and doodling or even listening and contributing to the conversations, the writing, the film or whatever! I noticed that more than once.

It’s important to note that while the experience was new to me, I didn’t really take TOO much offense. They are in situations they probably really don’t want to be in. (The word "probably" is there for a reason.) And here comes a teacher who is insistent on teaching, in the summer, in their space, when some of them may not have sat in a classroom but a few times all year long. I get it. Which is why I had to constantly “reroute”, just like Siri. Establishing connections, and then new ones when new students came through (all. summer. long.), was the only way that I was going to be successful this past summer.

Previous Posts on Working with Adjudicated Youth (not advice, but my summer experience)
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

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.”