Crazy Week!

This has been one of the craziest, weirdest weeks for me so far. Monday I suffered a migraine again all day (day 8 in a row) and finally got into the doctor. I think I'll be fine now thanks to some good meds!

Tuesday, one of my best students, out of the blue, started screaming and yelling at another student clear across the room. Thankfully, she knew herself well enough to leave before she became physically violent. This student has a horrible homelife and her outburst wasn't entirely surprising to me, yet it has me very bothered. After she left, I called the office to let them know she was somewhere between me and them and to watch for her. She went to call her grandma (guardian) to come get her. I continued on with class as normal and we used that to talk about "job place etiquette" a little. As soon as class was over, I went to the office (had my next door neighbor watch my class) and talked to the principal who requested I talk to grandma. We had a chat, along with the student, and things seemed fine as they left. I came back to my classroom and was chatting with my neighbor about the situation because this student is also my student aide and the neighbor teacher is the instructor for that class. She became concerned when I told her that the student had gone home because earlier this week the student had written her a letter seeking help to get out of the home. We both went to the counselor after school, but she was not there. The student was absent from school today, so naturally, I became a little alarmed. I found the counselor today and told her what happened yesterday and she, too, was very concerned. She tried to call the student's home after that and everytime she has called, the line has been busy. I doubt I'll get much sleep tonight wondering what is going on.

Today the students started their presentations for the collaborative project. I've been very impressed so far. Even those who are struggling are doing an excellent job and this assignment has really boosted grades.

Have a great rest of your week! By the way, I love the fall colors on here! I'm ready for some snow though (Sorry folks, I'm a Northerner!

Student In Trouble

I have a student in my class that came up to me this week and told me that she is pregnant. She confided in me that her mother said that she was going to make her have an abortion. She was so upset. Then the next day she said that her mother was going to press charges against her boyfriend and have him arrested for rape. The boy is 18 and the girl is 17. O.K. law enforcement people, can he be charged for this crime if she willingly had sex with him? She says the boy wants to go to college and wants to take care of her and the baby. Her mom has also kicked her out of the house. She is now staying with a friend. She has come me and some of the other teachers for advice. It is so hard with out stepping over the line to give her advice. Another teacher and I took her to the counselors office to help her with some of her issues. I feel so helpless. I know she shouldn't have done this but, I feel so sorry for her because she has no support from her mother. She said that her mother had become pregnant with her when she was 15 by an older man and her parents didn't press charges. She said that is why she doesn't understand why her mother is doing this to her. I told her that she has a lot to think about and a lot of decisions that she is going to have to make. It is going to be hard but, she will make it through this. It is so hard to know what to say. I hope her mother will come around and help her through this. You would think that her mother would be more understanding since she went thought this herself. I guess she is just very angry and does not know how to deal with it.
Tracy