Angry Children

You all know my chosen career. I teach 6th grade. This is my 24th year in the trenches, so I feel like I have enough experience to talk about the topic of education. This will not be a rant or a gripe session. It's really not my style and that's not what this blog is about anyway. I want to discuss the topic of ANGRY children.

I am amazed every day by the number of children who walk through my classroom door angry. I'm talking about children who are full of rage first thing in the morning. Now, we've all had bad days. We've all woke up in a bad mood. We've all had things that happen first thing in the morning that affect our whole day. That's part of being human. The children I'm referring to come through my door angry more often than not. I'm not talking about the kind of angry where a kid maybe had an argument with his/her best friend. I'm talking about the kind of anger that is coming from somewhere down deep. A simmering, seething, ticking time bomb kind of anger. This is what I see every day. I must confess this troubles me greatly and causes me distress because I don't understand where the anger is coming from or how to help these children. I know many of my students come from broken homes and some horrific circumstances. I guess this makes it all the more difficult to relate to them because I came from such a good home, I provide a stable home for my children and everybody I associate with maintains a stable family life. The children I teach are poverty stricken, abused, neglected, children of drug addicts, children of alcoholics and have parents who are (or have been) incarcerated. Most of my students do not share the last names of their parents and very few come from traditional two parent homes. I think the breakdown of the American family and moral decay in general are behind many of the challenges I face daily. I guess what I'm saying is with all my students are facing, it is no wonder they are full of rage. I'd be angry too if I had to deal with that kind of stuff. To say these children are not equipped to handle these life issues is a gross understatement.

All I can do with these angry children is greet them every morning with a smile and a soft touch on the shoulder. I might be the first (or only) friendly face they see all day. When their anger rears its ugly head, all I can do is respond with a cool, calm tone. If nothing else, I want to teach these children that everybody has problems, but we don't have to yell or hit to solve those problems. That's a tall order. An order that I'm not sure I'm up to. I'm not sure my influence can do much to counteract the culture they live in daily. I can try, but I liken the task to attempting to put out a house fire with a squirt gun. But God has me in St. Bernard for a reason. What that reason is, I haven't a clue. However, I will continue firing my squirt gun until I can squeeze the trigger no more. God be with me. These children need big time help.