School Daze

I haven't blogged about work/school for a while. It's sad, because I have all kinds of funny stories. Honestly, juvenile delinquents (especially the less-than-intelligent ones) can be hilarious.
Names have been changed to protect the underaged-but-far-from-innocent.

Let's talk about "Andrew". I know which students are supposed to be in my Transition class on any given day. If the students don't show up, I call their first period classes to ascertain whether they've gone to class instead, and if so, I have them sent over to me and proceed with business as usual. Andrew has a problem with attending school regularly, which is one of the reasons why he got sent to Transition in the first place. One morning, I called Andrew's Period 1 teacher, and he had indeed gone to his class. His teacher (who is a very good teacher, by the way) promptly sent him over to my room, except... somehow, he never arrived... How stupid is it to ditch school when both your regular teacher AND your Transition teacher know that you are ditching? Exactly.

Now let's talk about "Robert". Robert also has a problem with chronic ditching of school. On another fine morning, he wasn't in Transition as scheduled, so I checked in with his first period teacher. No Robert. Following my established routine, I then called his home to see if he was there, or at least to discover what his mom or dad would have to say.
Me: Good morning. I'm calling from xxxxxxxx Middle School, and I'm trying to located Robert xxxxxxxxx.
Dad: Oh, he should be in class by now.
Me: Well, he's supposed to be with me in Transition, but he failed to show. I called his first period class, and he is not there, either.
Dad: I don't understand. We sent him to school more than an hour ago.
Me: Let me explain. Your son is ditching school.
Uh-huh. There's our problem right there, folks. Robert gets away with everything short of felonies because Dad is totally clueless... Robert was SO BUSTED this time, though. Aside from his attendance problem, of course, he is unpleasant, disrespectful, and had the gall to start a food fight in the cafeteria when I was standing RIGHT THERE. Of course, he didn't get to have any real fun with the food, since I put an immediate stop to it. I have it on good authority (i.e., some middle school kid told me all about it) that Robert just hates me. Mwahaha. [No, Mom, I don't think he will bring a gun to school and try to off me; he's not that organized.]

And "Leonardo"? He's my Tracking Anklet Boy. Yes, he's on parole. No, I don't know why. That's police business. But I think the whole thing is extremely funny, even though I know I shouldn't. Teehee.

Never a dull moment in Transition, I swear.