No one should...

There are some things that are always in the back of your mind but never really come forward unless something happens. For example, I know I’m working in the inner-city. I things are not necessarily always safe. I know my kids are exposed to things that kids should not ever have to be exposed to. I know all of this, but it is rare that I sit and really think about. For one thing, it just wouldn’t get me anywhere; it’s a sad and harsh reality. But today was one of those days where it was brought forward. In one of my 7th grade classes today a boy decided it was ok to throw around some pretty vulgar and degrading words to another individual—words that for one thing, he should not know, and for another, cut rather deep for anyone. And he didn’t care how it made this young man feel. It amazes me because I know he probably heard some authority figure in his life say these things. I mean, how many kids are influenced and nurtured by what they hear at home…we all are. Ten minutes later I’m confiscating a safety pin from a girl who is cutting herself with it. Then I’m discussing how to better relieve the stresses of life, how to cope with a crappy home life to a 12-year-old girl who should be at worrying about nothing less that what she wants to do for fun with her friends after school. Scary stuff! On days like this it really makes me stop and wonder what life is like for them. I begin to wonder about the affects I, as well as programs I’m involved with, have on these kids. The world is sneaking in on them and it really breaks me apart to hear and see what they have to deal with. The things these kids are exposed to, no adult, let alone kid, should ever have to experience.