My First Week

I'm a teacher!

That exclamation has so many different connotations as my first week comes to a close and a second lies before me. It felt great to get in front of a classroom, to teach students math (!?) and have them really know that I believe in them. It's also terrifying to be in front of 35 high school students (mostly boys) and teach them about something I myself don't understand or like all that much. I constantly hear complaints of, "Ms. Juve! Why do we have to know this stuff?!" and honestly, I can't really give them a good answer. Finally, though, I decided to make the class mean something to them in a very tangible way.

Every morning, we have a warm up on the board for the students to complete in the first few minutes of the class period. We've found that it gets their minds going after a long lunch break. On Friday, the warm up read: "Write down any question about college you might have for a recent graduate." They ate it up. Every single student's pen was moving furiously across their small index card, and they kept writing even after we told them to stop (that NEVER happens). I asked how many of them wanted to go to college, and almost every single hand shot up. Granted, the school I'm teaching at is a relatively well-known school and not nearly as bad off as some of the other schools in the area. Still, I was a bit surprised but beyond elated. One student caught my attention though. G was sitting in the front row with his arms crossed. Always the joker, G shot up in his seat and said, "Yo, Ms. Juve, I'm not gonna go to college when I can get into prison for free!"

Needless to say, it took me by surprise. I was so on cloud nine seeing all those kids raising their hands in support of college, but G's single, solitary comment was enough to knock off my whole balance. Prison? Many of these kids have already been in Juvenile Detention Centers, which makes my last name the butt of many jokes ("Hey, we're going back to Juve!"). But what G said was serious. There was no denying that. The expectation he had sat for himself (and maybe others had set for him too) was that he would wind up in prison. Not trade school, where he could learn to be an electrician like he said he wanted, and not art school where he could refine his incredible gift of art. Prison.

The conversation continued, but G's voice still rang in my ears. Students asked about the parties, how to meet people, how to pay for college, how many classes you take, study abroad. But not G. He sat in his seat, totally disengaged from the conversation, until we turned it back on him. I had heard that he was a pretty talented football player, and had seen him kick the ball around at Nutrition Break (lunch). So I asked him, "Hey, G, did you know you could get a scholarship for playing sports? It's really great--they pay for your housing and tuition, they provide tutoring, the whole deal!" Someone in the back called out, "AND you get all the honeys too!" and I knew I had to agree. G's eyes lit up. "You mean, they actually pay you to play ball?" Really? Had no one ever told this kid that you could get scholarships? All of those students in my room are at a huge advantage in terms of getting into college just because of the color of their skin. And here was G, set on going to prison because he'd never known about the alternatives.

For the next 15 minutes, G was the most active I've ever seen him in class. He was asking questions, starting conversations, and bringing up some very valid points and concerns. In the end, he jumped up out of his seat once again, except this time he proclaimed, "Ah shit yea! I'm gonna graduate and I'm goin to college!" Everyone around him started clapping and cheering for their new hero, and I honestly probably cheered the loudest. I really believe that G means that, and it's just so humbling to know that a conversation in your classroom changed his mindset in that way. I had to choke back the tears.

Not everything was successful in my first week though. In fact, nothing was, really. My students actually made me cry one day, but I held my tears back until I got to the restroom. So does that mean I technically won?

Anyway, instead of focusing on those negatives, though, I'm just going to remember G and the rest of the inspirational students in my class. Because even though they think they're far too cool sometimes, they really are good kids. And if through my words and actions ONE PERSON changes his or her view on college and the future, I've done what I came to do.