I’ve been away doing the business of teaching.  I’m back.

At our school graduates can finish early if they meet all the requirements.  Their name is announced ceremoniously over the loudspeaker.  There are cheers, jeers, and yells…and sometimes silence from the different classrooms.   The other day I was in a room with another teacher and a student who had just finished.  His name was called over the loudspeaker.  He smiled, laughed, then started to sob and cry and laugh all at the same time.  So thunderstruck with emotion he didn’t even care who saw him.  I watched him as he poked out texts to he important people, his hoodie pulled far over his head.    This was a win!  He wasn’t  going to college.  He didn’t even have a job lined up.   So how was this a win? Let me tell you.  This student had been out of school for almost a year.  He was homeless off and on for 2 years.  He battled personal tragedy, learning challenges, and zero support for going and completing school outside of the school walls.  For the last 4 months of school, he had to take 3 buses to get to campus from his shelter.  In any other environment he would have been forgotten and tallied in the “drop out” column.  However, here because of the dedication of a remarkable group of educators, he graduated.  He will forever be able to hold his head high and state: “I completed High School!”

This year I kept track of what I heard.   Below is a list of some stand out quotations involving my students.  There is a story behind each one of these quotes.  As you read through, think two thoughts simultaneously:

What does it take to instruct, advise, counsel, and support students?

What does it take to succeed given the challenges faced by students represented by these quotes?

• “My dad died over the weekend.”
• “My mom is sick in the hospital and we don’t know what’s wrong with her.”
• “Sorry missed school, but I woke up and there was no one at home to take care of my little sister, so I took care of her yesterday.”
• “I couldn’t come to school yesterday because my mother didn’t give me money for the bus.”
• “Please look out for ______ she is fighting with her mom over custody of her baby.”
• “Please write a letter for ___________. They have a court date next week.”
• “I don’t care about anyone, everyone in this room  can die as far as I’m concerned.”
• “F**k you for bringing in food that I have to wash!”
• “We are in lock down, there are reports of gunfire nearby.”
• “We are in lock down, there is someone with a gun nearby.”
• “Is this the person who assaulted your student?”
• “F**k you all, I’m gonna torch this place!”
• “This is the first time I understand this stuff.”
• “I’ll put the F**king phone away when I’m F**king ready  A******.”
• “Why do I have to turn off my music?”
• “I’m the first one from my family to graduate from high school.”
• “I don’t care about this, I don’t want to graduate, I just want to get high and drink.”
• “I got locked out of my house last night because I got home to late, I spent the night in the park.”
• “Can I keep my clothes in your room for a few days, I don’t have a place to put them.”
• “_______has been reported as a runaway.”
• “My brother got shot yesterday.”
• “Help me write my resume.”
• “I have a job interview tomorrow, what will they ask?”
• “Can I use you as a reference?”
• “If I don’t graduate because of 1 English credit, I’m going to sock _______in the face.”
• “I’m a US citizen, you can’t deny me food.”
• “I know where you live.”
• “I can’t see the board, my glasses broke.”
• “My family can’t afford glasses right now; maybe I’ll get them for Christmas.”
• “I need community service hours for court. How many can I get from you.”
• “I’ve never done this much work in a class before.”
• “If I see him, I’m going to kill him.”
• “F**k all those B***h A** G** N******.”
• “I’ll hit those B****** whenever I want.”
• “Thank you for believing in me when no one else did.”
• “My step dad was killed in an accident over the weekend.”
• “I’ve been sleeping at my mom’s because my dad scares me when he gets angry.”
• “I have to take care of my grandma in the hospital because my parents work, I won’t be in school for the next few days.”
• “I broke it in a fight.”
• “Look I’m taking my stitches out with my teeth.”
• “We screened 136 students, 9 will require urgent follow-up dental care.”
• “We got kicked out of our place over the weekend; the shelter we are at is 2 buses away now.”
• “My dad is in the hospital with cancer.”
• “I’m leaving my foster family, how can I graduate now.”
• “I quit! I give up! This is too F***** hard.”
• “How can my own Dad to that to me!?”
• “I just F*** the pain away.”
• “It’s Tuesday, I don’t do any work on Tuesdays.”
• “Some one hacked my account and posted all the pictures, and my baby’s father is using those pictures against me in a custody hearing.”
• “I don’t hit females…even if she’s calling me a white N*****.”
• “We had to 5150 _____ last week.”
• “I’m not thinking clearly, they changed my medication again.”
• “I didn’t take my Aderol today so look out!”
• “Don’t go to Kaiser they F*** you up, my friend was in there for cancer and she died.”
• “I’ve been doing drugs, they mess up my thinking, I want to stop.”
• “When I drink I get really depressed.”
• “I’m tired of being inside all day, I’m going out.”
• “Why do you keep giving them chances?”
• “My partner was shot in the head over a girl…over a girl….what the f***!”
• “Screw counselors, their just here so they can get paid, they don’t care about me.”
• “You are different, you know how to talk to people. F*** them, they kiss it”
• “Thank you.”

If you have answers, I’d love to hear them.  I’m still trying to figure it all out.