Mad Mamas and the Line of Fire

So this week was interesting at school...on Tuesday I had to pull one of my students off of another (she had pinned the other student on the ground, and their arms were locked on each others hair and shoulders, so I grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her back and held her off). Not the smartest thing, I know, but it wound up ending the fight, sooo...

And then there was Thursday...Yes, you got it: another fight. This one, however, involved more than twenty people, was racially motivated (black vs. Mexican), and brought in several squad cars and the local news. One of the teachers--a good friend of mine and involved in many of the students' lives--was attempting to break apart three boys who were going at it (yeah; good luck with that, Carla), and wasn't making much progress, as the shoes she was wearing had her sliding all over the asphalt. So she took them off, holding them in her hands while she tried to break up the fight. It was at this point that another student, seeing the footwear in her hands, yelled out, "WATCH OUT! SHE'S GOT A SHOE!!!" Now, bear in mind, they have police officers with guns and tazers coming at them, and still they fight. But a woman comes at them with a gold, sequined sandal, and this is cause for alarm. Not one to let a good lead get past her, Carla then screams out, "THAT'S RIGHT! I'M A MAD MOTHER, AND I'VE GOT A SHOE, AND I'M GONNA SPANK YOU WITH IT!!"

And--I still can't believe it--the Red Sea...parted. Go fig.

I love testing season. You see, there are many kids at our school who, though they may do great work in class, absolutely freeze when four options are put in front of them labeled A, B, C and D. So, in preparation for the upcoming standardized tests the State puts us through in order to determine federal funding, the District has scheduled review sessions beforehand, which have served to do nothing, in many cases, but frustrate the students. So they're frustrated at themselves, it's Spring, they have energy and hormones coursing through them, and then someone makes a comment about someone else's ethnic group and/or significant other, and...it's on.

Welcome to Spring.