Sad Day

It is extraordinarily late for me to be awake (yes, it is only 9:40... but what can I say, I am a grandma now) but I wanted to write a bit to unload and also ask for some prayers.

Two of my students were expelled today according to the zero-tolerance policy for gang association. They had gang names/symbols/colors on their binders and drawn on their hands and arms.

I happened to be the one who noticed it.

I knew this would be a reality of my school, but it made for a pretty hard day. Mostly I just feel terrible that this probably statistically ENORMOUSLY lowered their chances of graduating from high school. Which is just one more reason for them to turn to the gang life.

This brings the total to THREE 7th graders who have been expelled in the first 7 days of school, all for gang related stuff. Last week a girl got into some sort of gang-related fight after school and was not only expelled but also removed from campus in a police car. A 12 year old girl. It blows my mind.

Arghhhhhh. Teaching is way harder than I thought.

So pray for the boys, for their families, for their futures, and pray for wisdom for me and my fellow teachers and our administration in how to best love & serve our students.