To Bend an Ear

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Not in my school. Not even legal to ask in my state.

That's a blue state for you.

 

[Muhammed]

I always make myself available to stay after school to help any students (in my classes or not) who need help with homework or projects in any subject (except math!). I'm glad to do so. But it turns out that 9 times out of 10 students who stop by my classroom after school just want someone to chat with; someone to listen to them. I'm especially glad to be an ear for students who often don't have one outside of school. I have a few students from the Dominican, Guatemala, Mexico, and Bangladesh who very often stop by and just talk. Sometimes I'll just be there without saying a word for 20 minutes or more. These students just want to get their worries, frustrations, and hopes out into the ether. You can see the relief on their faces just to say the words and be heard. The problem is this can keep me after school for an hour and a half or more, which means I get crushed in traffic getting home. But I find it hard to cut off any of the kids who are venting. I consider this as important as teaching them grammar or essay writing, etc. They are really good kids, and it pains me to think of them moving about the world with all this locked down inside. A lot of these kids exist in dangerous, insecure, uncertain conditions. But they have hopes and dreams and goals the same as kids in the wealthy suburbs.

See? Now I'm venting.

Don't have any text "venting" sessions with those kids that could be misconstrued as being improper.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Do not ever have any contact with any students in any way, shape, or form without multiple witnesses.