It takes a Village to Fail a Child…
I work in a school with gifted learners – the best and brightest.. And they truly are an amazing group of kids. The way they think and process information is extraordinary.
Sometimes a certain kid in a class stands out to me because of their skill or personality. Six years ago, it was a tall, thin boy by the name of V. He always grasped concepts easy and he spent hours doing his projects. I wasn’t only his technology teacher, I also coached him on a robotics team. He was skilled and the team did well at the robotics match because of him. Of course, when he graduated I thought he would become a mover and a shaker in his high school and our community.
After school today, I went to a local grocery store to grab a very items for dinner. A young man wearing sweats was sitting on a milk crate outside the store. He said, “Hey Miss ___, it’s good to see you. How are you? Do you remember me?” I stared at the tall, messy young man with a big grin. I said his name and asked him if he worked at the store all in one sentence. He wasn’t surprised that I knew his name and then told me that he needed the money and that he would rather work and make money then go to more school.
I went inside the store, grabbed a few items and couldn’t stop thinking about the kid who was once in my classroom. He gave up college to work at a grocery store and take a break on a milk crate outside the store. I paid for the items and went outside to talk to him. I was glad he was still on break because I wanted to know what I did wrong. I reminded him of how successful he was in junior high school. He said things changed for him in high school and that he was sick of school. I asked him why he didn’t go to Manhattan and get a job in the city doing computer work. He said he wasn’t sure and that he didn’t think about that. He told me he was going to community college in January. He said he didn’t know what he wanted to major in. I asked him if he ever thought about teaching. He hadn’t, but said he would. I gave him my info and took his and told him I would be checking up on him. I could tell by his eyes and his voice that he wanted to please me…..but what about pleasing himself? Why wasn’t that factor there?
He’s not a child any more. He’s a working man. So I should be happy, right? He’s not living off the City of NY – he’s working. But I’m not happy. I feel like we failed him. We meaning Me, his family, our community and his high school. How did a kid who loved school and learning decide that working in a grocery store was enough? I realize his circumstance could change this year, but something is wrong when a 19 year old man doesn’t have dreams bigger than being a grocery store stockperson.
Hugs,
marlene
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
December 19th, 2009 at 3:30 am
I did some research on this topic years ago. I also interviewed local gifted high school dropouts for a radio show I deejayed. One of the primary reasons that gifted kids ended up outside mainstream education is because schools turned them off. After years of wanting to really learn and only being allowed to barely touch one or another subject, they opted out. Don’t despair. Most of the ones I interviewed ended up getting educated. Many came back in through community colleges, which are often more flexible in how they approach learning than are high schools and even traditional universities.