Riverman you must be a public school teacher or something. Sound just like my sister too. I have to agree with you except for the fact that it's never too late and those kids may well pay more attention to you than Cosby or Dyson. Personally, I try my best but the mentality is pretty badly entrenched thanks to the parents, or lack thereof.
Yes,I sub part time in a very notorious district.
Parents are a critical component to success and if pops isn't there and often moms isn't doing right then you have a real recipe for disaster.
Many of these kids will reveal many things to those they trust.In my school district,it is very common to have students who have fathers in jail and mothers who are dope fiends and worse.They are very matter of fact about these cold realities.
Case in point.One young man I was mentoring a while back had an absent dad and moms was taking care of six kids all by herself.One day moms decided that she wanted to be in the game too and abandoned her family one morning without warning.Robert,a seventh grader at the time,was left to feed his bothers and sisters.That afternoon he"hooked it up"and started"grinding caine"on the mean streets.He started getting in the dope game as a survival tactic but then just got caught up with the fast money,"hos"and tight rides.He had shot people and been shot.Yet one day at 19 in the middle of one of our mentoring sessions he broke down crying like a baby in front of his friends because he missed his mother so much.He has been in and out of jail since then.He is a grown man now and I do see him occasionally.He is still very protective of his siblings but he never got the "life"out of his system.God knows if he ever will.
My family was not the most functional one either.But we NEVER questioned that our parents had nothing less than our best interests at heart.Many kids today don't BELIEVE the adults in their life are working in their best interests.
And way too often they are absolutely RIGHT!
Yes,I sub part time in a very notorious district.
Parents are a critical component to success and if pops isn't there and often moms isn't doing right then you have a real recipe for disaster.
Many of these kids will reveal many things to those they trust.In my school district,it is very common to have students who have fathers in jail and mothers who are dope fiends and worse.They are very matter of fact about these cold realities.
Case in point.One young man I was mentoring a while back had an absent dad and moms was taking care of six kids all by herself.One day moms decided that she wanted to be in the game too and abandoned her family one morning without warning.Robert,a seventh grader at the time,was left to feed his bothers and sisters.That afternoon he"hooked it up"and started"grinding caine"on the mean streets.He started getting in the dope game as a survival tactic but then just got caught up with the fast money,"hos"and tight rides.He had shot people and been shot.Yet one day at 19 in the middle of one of our mentoring sessions he broke down crying like a baby in front of his friends because he missed his mother so much.He has been in and out of jail since then.He is a grown man now and I do see him occasionally.He is still very protective of his siblings but he never got the "life"out of his system.God knows if he ever will.
My family was not the most functional one either.But we NEVER questioned that our parents had nothing less than our best interests at heart.Many kids today don't BELIEVE the adults in their life are working in their best interests.
And way too often they are absolutely RIGHT!