Four and the letter from lockup

Four was an incredibly bright child. He was, in fact, probably one of the smartest children I’ve ever taught. He seemed to intuitively understand where a lesson was going and grasp the concept almost before I had finished explaining it. He often understood the larger context of things the other students weren’t even aware existed yet. He was also bored. A lot. And he misbehaved because of it. He knew a lot of what he was being taught so he misbehaved in Math, in Science, in English, in History…he almost couldn’t help himself. He also had to have the last word so he could never let anyone finish an argument, a debate, or even a conversation without saying one more thing.

To better understand ‘misbehave’ better in relation to this child the one time in my teaching career we’ve been evacuated for a bomb threat was when Four borrowed someone’s cell phone and called one in. He also meticulously, and with a great deal of research, wrote guidelines for being a member of his ‘crew’. He was looking forward to being the kingpin of a new gang he was creating. Clearly that is not an appropriate life choice, but I don’t think it was as much about the gang as it was about the respect and sense of belonging.

When he was tried and incarcerated at the juvenile lockup he learned some hard lessons. He wrote me about how he tried to help someone who had also been a student of mine and he deeply felt the pain of helping them adjust to being locked up and then asking the other child to write to him when they were released but never hearing from them. He also acknowledged the loss of the girl he was dating and the relationship they had. All things I would expect to hear but I’ll never forget the line “As I fall asleep every night I let a tear slip down my face at everything I lost”. It goes on to say he plans to get out and get a job working in asbestos removal with his father because they will hire him even though he has a record, that he has gotten his GED, and some other things, but that one line is forever stuck in my mind. The thought of him lying in a cell crying in the dark breaks my heart.

It also reminds me that my students have experiences I never will, live lives that are significantly different from the way I grew up, and understand things about the world no child should ever have to know about. In addition, it reminds me how lucky I am and how important it is for me to do a good job teaching so I give the students in my classes every possible advantage.

Thank you Four.