My seniors are wonderful. Their desire to learn, and their willingness to work hard inspires me. It is amazing how little they know about American government and current events. It is most certainly not their fault. They simply haven't been given the same opportunities as the rest of society's children. I had great one-on-one time with "El" after my other 5'th period Seniors had gone to a special event for Seniors who had passed the FCAT. He is not reading at a high school level. He can say the words, but has little comprehension. You can see it in his eyes though. He wants to learn.

My freshmen made me cry today. I stayed up late preparing a lesson plan, seating chart, and agenda. With the positive phone calls made last night, I have about 25 of them completely on my side, but the rest of the 37 constantly test me. There are about 4 who hate me. It is their mission to disrupt my class. They are not there to learn. I knew that 14 year olds could be this cruel, but I didn't know their cruelty could still bother me.

Let me explain what I'm dealing with. All I want to do is learn their names. On Tuesday, I had a seating chart prepared randomly. Some of the students did not sit in their assigned sits and I didn't pick up on it. They have no IDs, so there is no way I can for sure know who is who. I could not learn names, because their behavior was so disrespectful. Wednesday, I had a break. Yesterday, I had a chart at the front of the room that they read their names off of. My troublemakers did not sit in their seats. I called them by their wrong names as they went up the consequence ladder. When I told them I was calling their parents, they told me that "that's not my name." Some refused to give me their real names. Since there is always so much noise in the room, it's hard to handle specific situations. There is always another fire to put out. Today, I put their names on notecards and placed them on desks. Hahah, I thought. Nope. They switched the cards around.

One student came in late without a schedule. I told him to go to the media center to pick up a schedule. He came back with 15 minutes left and said "They're not giving them out anymore." "What is your name?" I asked. "John Smith," he said. "Okay, Mr. Smith have a seat." I went to the wall to push the emergency button. I knew this kid was full of it. Well, my emergency button does not work. Luckily, my department chair checked in with me, and grabbed the kid by the backpack to kick him out. The place is like a prison. This John Smith's only purpose was to come in and make my class hell for me. School isn't about learning for some of these students. It makes my heart ache for the students (and there are A LOT of them) who really do want to learn.

After a good cry, I got back on my feet. These kids want me gone. They want me to quit. Speaking of, another corps member in my high school quit tonight. Well, I'm not going to quit. Although this might sound egoistic, it's not about reaching these kids anymore. This is war. This is a game. I am going to win. I will never quit.

Mr. Moore