Cries from Our Urban Youth #3

     Monique is really an entrepreneur in the making. Besides donuts, she sells candy, burritos, juice and sodas all out of her backpack. I do not allow the commodity swapping in my classroom, but outside, on the yard it’s hard to stop. Zina, older and smarter, is Monique’s best friend. She has an opinion about everything. “Monique, girl, look at your burgundy hair weaves, why you so fake, take them weaves out. What color donuts you got in your bag today, anything good?” Without waiting for an answer, Zina begins another assault. “You’re looking real hot today Rusty, sitting there in your Fubu baggy pants and Tommy jacket all in powder blue. Yeah, you and me would look sooo fine rolling in a black Escalade going clubbing or eating some ribs.” “Ribs! I love ribs,” explodes Monique, “big beef ribs, spicy pork ribs, sweet baby backs just like my Mama makes. Rusty, honey wouldn’t you like to take me out to…”

“Shut up you big whale, I bet you like ribs and lots of them cause your thighs are too big for them jeans you got on!”

 ”You shut your freaking mouth, ” Zina snaps. I call for a cease-fire in my classroom and try to get them back on task.

Cries from our Urban Youth #2

“I live with my Forty drinking grandma, they all burnt out at home;I ain’t going to end up like them, I promise, I’ll start coming to class.”

Life for these teens is challenging; hop in the rod, watch a gunfight at jack in the Box then cruise the swap meet. So goes the daily conversations on the school yard, someone said some shit, someones saw a piece, someone’s up in our business, someone wants to score, someone is pimping this ho, and on and on. It’s not easy being teenagers in our urban schools. They are afraid their voices will not be heard; they want to be popular and they want  cool friends. Unfortunately, most of my students despise me. “You are old, we are young” goes the mantra, “you don’t know nothing.”And I tell them it’s supposed to be like that. At first they turned their backs, but I keep showing up, so now they are stuck with me.