This week, her guardian (her mom's sister) emailed and asked if she could meet with me. I agreed and it turned out to be a really good meeting. Her aunt said the mother was on drugs and not wanting to have anything to do with the child. The Dad was not in the picture and stayed in jail or intoxicated. She's had her in her custody since February, but the child had attempted to run away by hitching a ride with some guys that she didn't know. When she found her way back home, the guys had given her the date rate drug and she had to be admitted to the hospital for treatment. After that incident, the aunt felt she should go to more secure surroundings, the group home, so the child could be safe. While waiting for placement, the child and the aunt agreed that they both really wanted her with the aunt, so they cancelled the group home placement with the condition that she would not try to "escape" again.
The aunt stated that the child really liked my class and was always excited when talking about it. We agreed to work together to keep her engaged and excited and current in her work. She actually has a good grade at this time, so we thought telling her this would boost her confidence.
I also had another student, who I talked to about her bad attitude state that I didn't know what she was going through. She stated that she has an anger problem, depression and a lot of trouble at home (her step dad gets put out of the house once a month).
I am just in shock at the problems these kids have and have to admit I was very naive about it. I'm glad that her guardian and all of her teachers are working together to make it better for her and look forward to reporting good progress about her accomplishments in class to you in the future.
2 comments:
Georgette - you are saving lives . . . keep it up as it will happen repeatedly . . . sometimes our classes are the best things in a students' lives so keep preparing them for worthwhile careers!
Hi Georgette,
It's your buddy Bernardo,
I agree with Dr. M. Sometimes we are the last defense for some of these students. We often find ourselves being emotionally attached to these kids and wanting to help them in every way possible. My only hope is that the adversity that these kids encounter will only make them stronger.
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