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The Sad Reality
It was the usual “fight.” The difference today was the tears. Usually I was met with defiance and some aggression. Today the weapon of choice was tears. I guess when defiance didn’t work,…
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A Parent’s Support
Parent walked in to the classroom from the hallway. Parent looked a little tentative and uncomfortable. Or maybe it was fatigue. Parent looked as if it had been a difficult and physically demanding…
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[the student] “Complains” About Me, Too
The Player We had talked. Oh, boy, had we talked. “Your child did this.” “Your child said that.” “I’m concerned about your child’s lack of focus.” “I know how smart your child is,…
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Missing in Action
The school admin paged me to the office. It seemed that [the principal] was missing and, though ostensibly on duty somewhere in the school district, could not be found. By anyone. The Player…
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Ineffectual Bureaucracy
[pronoun] wasn’t even in my elementary school class that year. [pronoun]’s teacher came up to me during one of our fairly frequent passing meetings in the hall. My colleague asked: “Would you take…
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The Ants Adjustment
I had a hard time getting [pronoun] situated in the classroom. Classmates were disrupted. [pronoun] would manage not to alienate or annoy those who sat close for a day or two but, in…
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Self-Injury to Avoid Learning
Would [pronoun] really go that far just to avoid learning? The Setup My eyes were drawn to [pronoun], as they generally were. If something were to go wrong in the room, if there…
An American School
Real Stories from America's Schools
