My brass school doorknob

On my desk I keep a brass doorknob and a block of wood from my first school.  It reminds me of my start as a teacher and the struggles I faced.

I found that doorknob on the floor in front of a classroom door whose window had been smashed by it.  The custodial staff could not keep up with all the broken windows which mostly where broken from the inside. Looking at the school from the outside you saw a lot of boards in place of window panes. 

We must all be aware of the struggles classroom teachers face. They need our support, advice and all the help we can give them.  They may not get what they really need in their school but thanks to social media they can get it online.  Consider yourself very fortunate if you work in a good school environment. But remember not everyone is that lucky. Reach out and support our struggling colleagues.

Looking at that doorknob I will never forget my days as a classroom teacher:
lack of supplies, little support, poor working conditions, revolving door teacher staff, ineffective administrators, little if any parental involvement, violence….

 

School Violence – Let’s attack the causes

The recent sad tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut brought back memories of my teaching career in East New York, Brooklyn known as the “Homicide Capital of New York City.” 

Here are some excerpts from my school’s Report of Principal’s Suspensions (Five Days) for the attendance period ending January 31, 1972. Of the thirteen students listed on this report seven of their parents did not come for the Principal’s Hearing:

  • Seventh grade male student – Hit principal, dean & patrolman (Yes, we had a uniformed New York City police officer in our school every day the school was open.)
  • Eighth grade male student – Throwing trees at cars in front of school (I have the newspaper article from four years later when this same student was found guilty in the slaying of 2 teens.)
  • Eighth grade female student – Hit secretary.
  • Seventh grade female student – Destructive behavior (A few months later this student was killed.)

The students treated these suspensions as a vacation from school and their behavior when they came back to school did not change. 

In another case I remember one student suspended for stealing a teacher’s purse.  He was suspended, never counseled and a few years later he was arrested during the course of a robbery at a store. 

 I kept a scrapbook of newspaper articles as well as documents & photographs of our troubled school.  Some of the newspaper headlines:

  • “Indict 5 Teenagers in Killing of 3 Elderly Men” (2 of the 5 had attended my school)
  • “Nab Suspects in 27 Holdups” (2 of the 4 arrested were former students)
  • “Youth Slain in IRT holdup” (former student killed after he fired a shot at a patrolman)
  • “Three Hurt In Battle at Playground” (gang fight behind our school that listed one of our students)
  • “School Administrator Attacked by Gang” (our principal in the middle of school day was beaten in the school yard by a gang of teen-aged youths when he went to the rescue a boy the gang had attacked). 

What always bothered me was that no one ever found out the reasons why these children acted out.  They were never interviewed by our guidance staff, social worker or school psychologist who could have possibly helped get them the help that they needed. Unfortunately, we have a lot of young people who need help and they do not receive it.  There are no easy answers to this but we should at least make an effort to prevent future events like what happened in Connecticut and the daily incidences that happen in many of our schools.