I can’t sleep because my thoughts are consumed by them. They’re the students I have the hardest time with in my classroom. Our conflict is rarely outward, but, for me, it’s always raging internally.
“They” are the male, disrespectful, insecure, angry, future spouse abusers.
I hate the way they talk to me. I can’t stand their rude comments when we read Speak. I rage at their shitty fathers.
Mostly, I fear for the women who will get stuck with them.
4 comments:
Even working at a Christian school, I've been surprised at how disrespectful a lot of the young guys are. I've heard it's much worse in public schools.
Just remember, hold them to a higher standard, not a lower one. It takes all of your energy, but by doing it, you communicate that at least one person in their life expects that they can and will become something.
Why assume that a disrespectful boy will turn into a wife-beater? That is a naive way of putting things, in my opinion. The women these (future) men will embrace will have a journey on their hands, it is true, but so will the men themselves in aligning themselves with those women. Everyone has baggage.
Yes, the boys need fathers - good, crisp, ready-to-fight-for-respect-in-the-family kind of fathers, but they need to be given a chance, too.
It's more than disrespectful. I have those kids, too.
It's a look that is far too familiar to me. A look that says, "You're trash because you are a woman."
I have my own baggage, I know. That's why that look and that tone of voice bring tears to my eyes and keep me awake at night. I lived in a home with one of those shitty fathers who thought it was okay to hit my mom and tell her she was trash. My mom: One of the most amazing women I've ever had the privilege of knowing (and not just because she's my mom).
I want so badly for them to be different. That's why I care so much that they consume my thoughts.
Of course, I was making a generalization (from my experience), and I don't expect all of these boys to turn out that way. They can't.
You care so beautifully, Sherry. I hope you already know this, but those kids are really lucky to have you as their teacher. All the stuff you have to endure from those emotionally disturbed students...most wouldn't have the capacity to take it or the care to keep challenging/encouraging them.
More than that I'm glad you're there to empower the insecure girls so they know they're deserve better than abuse from a man!
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