8:01 on a rainy Tuesday morning after having Monday off.  No students in the room.  One student in the other classroom.  Not the most auspicious beginning, but my guess is that it’s a bit crazy because other students are starting “regular” summer school today.  (As opposed to intensive summer school, like these kidlets.)

I fear I may have become soft in my years away from NEARI.  I’m not as thick-skinned as I was after 8.5 years there.  That’s neither good nor bad, just an observation.  I continue to find that I am horrified by the experiences that kids have outside of the classroom.

Kids shouldn’t be able to make statements about how whenever they get picked up, they always are given to Officers XXX and YYY because they know them best.  How many times are you getting picked up to know this?  One of the other students talked about selling drugs for her parents.  Why are parents involving their kids in this?

These kids need so much more than a Common Core based education.  They need love, guidance, mental health support, physical health support.  How do they get to knowing the parts of an Open Response without those things first?