I’ve got 2 problem students. not in the sense that they create
problems but moreso that they /are/ problems.

I took a bunch of kids on a field trip last year to a prestigious
college, both as a campus visit and to see a Tae Kwon Do tournament.
lately, this girl who we brought has been asking me questions about
the college. today, she cinched it and asked, “what kind of grades do
you need to get in? 75′s? 80′s” I took the easy way out and told her I
don’t know; that she’d have to talk with a recruiter. I pushed the
hard work off on to someone else. how was I supposed to tell her that
80′s wouldn’t cut it? that, considering the neighborhood, she was
lucky enough to go to any college, let alone a prestigious 1. or that
even if she did get in, she has no idea of the /scope/ or /magnitude/
of the tuition. we’re talking $50,000 a year. she’s a good kid though,
always has been. maybe I’ll hand her a brochure anyway …

the other kid, we have this established silence. we greet each other
but I stopped asking why he stopped coming to my program. usually, I
hound students about attendance to show them at least 1 teacher cares
and also to instill discipline, responsibility, and pride in them. I
stopped hounding this kid. I know he has trouble at home, almost got
arrested and had to go to court, was about to get transferred out, and
is failing. his primary guardian is his grandfather, no mention of mom
or dad, and he has what looks like a healed over burn scar on 1 hand.
large and unmistakable; on black people, the skin comes back a lot
lighter; he sometimes wears gloves in class. he wants to come to my
class — sometimes would ditch the entire day of school but come in to
do the activities (martial arts and photography). he’s actually on a
watch list to prevent exactly that. so instead of hounding him, we
both just say hi; probably say a little more in the silence that
follows.

like I said, problem students.