March 29, 2010

I’m normally unable to file a report to this blog space this early in the day, but I recently had that experience that no teacher, especially one who decides they want to be part of the solution, wants: A student put his hands on me, resulting in me contacting Trenton Police and filing an assault charge. I’ve just filed the formal report, detailng for the administrators at the Trenton School District Main Office what happened to me.

I’ve heard stories about teachers being assaulted, and how they are treated. Now I am about to see, firsthand, what happens in this event, when students refuse to follow a teacher’s instruction, become more unruly and disrespectful than normal, then reach a point where it behooves them to put their hands on and strike a teacher. For a few reasons, I think mine is a different situation, on which I will expound sooner than later.

I won’t share anymore details now, but what I will say is this: my participation in the Trentonian Media Lab, discussing public school education in this city, and urban education overall, was supposed to spark discussion and exchange of ideas between everyone, on ways to involve more parents in our children’s learning process which, we hope, would make a better learning and living environment for all. I will, of course, maintain my commitment to hosting such intelligent, pertinent dialogue, but I must now take a different path to reach that same destination. What does that mean? Read this space and find out. Just understand I gotta do it like this now. I live here.