All the Rules- In the Begining

 

We had weeks of trainings but from the get go, I felt overwhelmed by all the rules. Of course that made em more nervous. Could I follow all these?  I made a document of the rules (after transcribing from my scribbles on the handouts) and kept adding as the years went on (and I found out from breaking an unknown rule what I had done wrong).


Here are some:

No more than 2 students can be standing up at one time (so I had to make sure everyone knew about my first week activity where they all stood up and walked around. The guard watching the cameras in the booth had to know - otherwise they assume there is going to be a fight).


Whatever you give out, make sure you count it out and get it all back, even something like post-its


If there is a fire drill, take the pencils (and count that you have them all) - so I could burn because I am counting pencils?


If a student has been self harming, give them markers instead.


Lock up all your materials at the end of the day, especially pencils


Kids can’t sharpen their own pencils - you have to do it for them.


Ask the guards if a student can go outside the room first, once there is  permission, then they can go to the bathroom, or to a counselor, or whatever.  (This is safety - there could be a situation in the hall or a student that student wants to hurt)


Keys can never be left out where students could touch them.


Never tell them what time it is (they could be planning a riot). Of course, they could see it on the corner of the smart board.


No staples.


Be careful how you move your body and always cover most of your body (to the women) - everything can become sexual to incarcerated teenagers.  (I didn’t worry about this much since I wasn’t young and thin anymore but it is a huge issue for most women and the environment could even turn into harassment. Plus, even I had a few issues over the years with a few students)


Students can not take any materials from class to class (could be used for forbidden communication). Instead, give it to the guards but, unlike regular school, we could not give homework.


Legal charges should not be discussed in class.


Never leave the room or the student unattended.


Notes, letters, and other forms of communication between students are not permitted.  Artwork should not reflect the names of other students. Photographs should only be taken as part of a class project. At the completion of the project, the student’s photo may be placed in “Personals”, but photographs of pairs or groups of students should never leave the classroom.  



No giving out gum or chewy candy (kids use to gum up the doors so keys and locks won’t work)


Count candy and get all the wrappers. The kids can store it away for later and then use it to bribe other kids (like for sexual favors - there is no consensual sex in jails)


Make sure the student has eaten all of the candy. One teacher described that she looked into their mouths. I was worried - I didn’t sign up to be a dentist!


I found ways to deal with all of these rules - it became natural. Counted candy. Unwrapped them and let them grab the candy out. I never looked in their mouths. I never lost a pencil and even stopped using them and went to dry erase markers which helped my environmentalist dream of going paperless anyhow.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teaching Behind Bars Begins

  I gave up on teaching. I said never but that word never lasts. I ended up working at a church and teaching their non-religion religion (other story).  Then I decided to finally get my English Second Language endorsement.  I went back teaching adults and loved it.  I also got a class teaching GED at the jail.  Then I decided the way to work is to be a school counselor. I went back to grad school and was almost endorsed when I filled out applications. I did at least 60 applications and only one interview for a school counselor. I thought I was sure to get a job offer being bilingual in Spanish, but nada.  I had no idea how competitive it was and how almost being endorsed is not as attractive as an actual license to counsel. So, I begrudgingly started applying for teacher jobs and got more interviews. I really really really really didn’t want to be a classroom teacher again even if I did enjoy teaching life skill lessons during my counseling internship....
Read more

ALMOST IN THE CLASSROOM

  My first few weeks were anxious and bliss.  Bliss because I didn’t actually have to teach for at least one month.  The state was driving 5 miles an hour to get our background checks done and I had to do all the training before they would let anyone near the kids.  The trainings were interesting – respecting LGBTQ students, suicide prevention,  informative  stats on where the kids come from and how they get to us through the courts.  The anxiety was from all the scenarios they told of how the kids had harmed people in the past. Mostly the guards but a few teachers too.  So we have a two day training on how to de-escalate and then how to get out of a physical attack without hurting the student (some patented training program that most states use). Since I couldn’t be near the kids until all the background checks came through and I had finished all the training, I had plenty of time to plan my classes.  At least 4 weeks of not being able to pr...
Read more

Safe Inside

  The state approved all my paperwork but I hadn’t finished all the trainings. The two other new hires were still waiting for their background checks.  So I was allowed into my classroom and on the hallway. I could see the students but still not talk with them. They didn’t look like scary monsters. They looked like kids.  I hadn’t taught full time for over ten years and the newborn I had as a teacher was now starting high school and the same age as these young ones. I listened to the radio I found in the room and organized the markers by colors. Later I realized that was stupid and bagged up 10 markers at a time so I could hand them out and easily count them once they returned.  However, I got to see all the supplies and stuff the previous teachers had purchased and get to know the room. The other teacher got thrown in and never did catch up on that front. As I happily prepped the room, the radio brought some terrifying news. A fugitive with a gun is on the run....
Read more