Code Yellow

I would normally spend a few paragraphs on the joys of Spirit Week here at school, where we have mismatched our clothing, participated in Twin Day, worn Crazy Hats, and today, put on all of our things backwards and inside out. Or maybe discuss my poor girl who got jumped after school, dragged across a parking lot, kicked in the face and stepped on, or perhaps the fire that started across the street on the way to work this morning, or the woman from the Drama program that is working at our school getting assaulted on the way to work today. But instead, I'm going to skip all that in favor of reiterating perhaps the most egregious offense I have ever seen a teacher partake in during my teaching career. And believe me, "most egregious" is saying quite a lot if you've known the staffs I've worked with for the last 3 years.

You remember clock lady, right? Or more accurately "I can't be on time to teach your children because I don't own a watch" lady? Well, I've always known she was a bad seed. Let's just call her NW, for "No Watch." But recently, I had been hearing about her being particularly mean to my homeroom. I dismissed it at first, assuming this was typical "she's mean, she doesn't like us" whining. But then I was told that she had called the girls in my class "ho's" [sp?]. This got my attention. I asked for more information from the class, who was dreading her coming to teach them the following period and I learned that she had told them to "shut the f*ck" up" and called another Social Studies teacher a "fake a$$" teacher among other things. I promised to take care of the situation. I recalled last year, when I got a school aid fired for physically pushing around my third graders. I went to my principal and mentioned the namecalling and he said "go get the girls who complained and have them write up a statement before the end of the day."

As I approached my homeroom, five minutes before I was due back to teach, I hear NW speaking loudly saying "You are like a bunch of second graders. You are going to fail my class. You belong in Special Ed." I freeze. This isn't going to be pretty. I peek my head in and there are THREE teachers in there: NW, NW's husband, who got her the job here and teaches Special Ed, and another Social Studies teacher [not Fake A$$ but the other one, a male]. NW and Mr. NW are standing in front of the room and NW is loudly preaching words of malcontent at the kids "y'all are crazy in here... you can't expect to pass if you are going to wile out like that."

"Excuse me," I say kind of meekly, "Sorry to interrupt but I need Sonya and Sharia for a moment in the hallway"
"Well isn't THAT just a coincidence. They are two of the biggest problems in this class."
"OK I will speak--"
"And your class has been OUT of control, and I think it's time that you take notice and start stepping up to the plate to take care of it."
"I just need--"
"You just come in here thinking that it's not your problem and don't even realize that your kids are in the hallway all period and they wont listen to a word I say. They listen to you, why not me?"
"The principal wanted me to take the girls--"
"I don't care about that. It's time for you to take responsibility for your problem and--"
"You do not need to yell at--"

At this point, Sonya and Sharia are at my side and my students are yelling out "Stop interrupting Ms. ______! Don't talk to her like that! Ms. _____ she's crazy! See?!" And I give them the "Hush I'll take care of it" face/gesture and they try to quiet each other down and I turn to walk out of the room with the 2 girls and NW goes "Don't you walk out of here!" and I do. Which may or may not have been the right thing to do or the professional thing to do but I'll be damned if NW is going to yell at me and not let me finish a sentence in front of my whole class. The students are all going "OHHHH she dissed you" and "deaded" and I feel a little bad but I need to explain to the girls about writing the statement.

When I re-enter the room she is still yelling. Eventually I persuade her to leave, quietly repeating "I will speak to them about their behavior." And when she leaves, I discuss the idea of composure and legitimacy to my students, and how they will be listened to and sympathized with much more easily when they calm down and speak articulately. Most of them understand this but some are just too upset.

About ten minutes later, the principal enters the room with NW [and while I'm not sure that would be the way I would have approached it, in front of the whole class with the teacher in question, that is how it was done...] and asks Sharia to explain what was the matter. She explains in detail, quite articulately although a little teary-eyed, how NW called them all hoes [ho's?] and how she said Sharia was dancing herself to hell and how she mocked Sharia's dancing from the assembly the other day saying it was like a stripper dance and how her imitation was "just wrong." And how she called the other teacher a "fake A teacher" [I love when kids omit curses all cute like that]. The principal asks NW what she has to say to this, and NW launches into a tirade on how bad the class is. He says, again, that is not what he asked her and is the information Sharia gave accurate? And NW says No it is Not. The whole class FREAKS OUT screaming YOU ARE A LIAR!!! and the principal and I calm them down but NW isn't having it. She starts to do the same thing to the principal that she did to me! She is not allowing him to speak and he keeps saying "Excuse me..." and she keeps talking over him and finally he says "We need to talk in the hallway, this conversation is over" and she WALKS OUT OF THE ROOM!! And runs down the hall away from him! Another teacher who was in the hallway said that in order for him to stop her he had to basically call out "I am your boss and you need to come talk to me now"

The kids are alright. They know it was not their fault although I did have to remind them that their behavior was a little bit out of line and that they need to stay in the classroom during Social Studies and that NW's inappropriate treatment does not mean they can be all crazy whenever me or the math teacher are not in the room.

Meanwhile, I guess Mr. NW had a little meeting with the principal because he had called some kids names when they wouldn't get on line and said "Were you raised by crackheads or something?" I'm sorry, but for two supposedly enlightened hippy rasta types they are just full of crap! I have never known such phoniness in my life! OK maybe that's an exaggaration but it makes it far worse that they claim to be all hight and mighty and zen and then are truly a$$holes. So Mr. NW tells the principal things that he wrote down on post-its and a colleague of mine saw them in the office. He said "You disrespected my Queen so I'm not going to give you respect now" and other similar remarks.

Today [this was Wednesday] the principal came in to let me know that if NW was seen anywhere near my classroom that I needed to send a student to him and have a code word. He suggested Code Yellow. I said "doesn't that seem a little suspicious?" I recommended the code be "Do you have any paper towels we can borrow?" He liked that.

If NW doesn't get fired I will have lost all faith in public schooling.