I was talking with a colleague at lunch yesterday and we were discussing the fact that it is possible that English teachers have a different perspective on students than other teachers. Since many of us assign journals and personal writings, we know more about our students' lives at home than a PE teacher or Math teacher might. Of course, all teachers connect on a personal level with some of their students, but I think we find out about a lot more of them. Most English teachers I know have a lot of respect for the kids and the day-to-day problems that they might have. Every time I assign journals I learn about the problems of these kids' home lives. And it's not always the kids you would imagine.
For example, a few years ago, I had a student who seemed to have everything together. She was pretty, popular, well-dressed, and on the dance team. She came to school with a spring in her step and a smile on her face. She was always polite to her teachers and sweet tot he other students. One of her journals however, told another story. Apparently her father suffered from blackouts where he would go into a fugue state and disappear for weeks at a time. No one knew where he was, and when he returned, he didn't know where he had been. Every day when she woke, she would check to see if her dad was still in the house. This was her reality.
I've heard stories of murder, drug use, prostitution, and violence that most people would not believe; and I teach in a relatively suburban area. I would like all of the policy makers to spend a bit of time in my shoes and get a real taste for what is going in the lives of our most impoverished (and even some of the not impoverished) students.
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