Of Bears and Penguins

Putting it in Perspective:

The toughest kid in the whole fourth grade is frequently described as "street" meaning basically that he has to fend for himself cause ain't no one else looking out for him.

He is angry. Disruptive. Manipulative. And many times, mean. He is often completely anti-social.

I kept him in the class today from his music class because of his behavior, and after the requisite "Man, I didn't do nothing," we settled into a tense, but peaceful silence, punctuated by his occasional soliloquies. Once he startled himself and jerked. "You okay?" I asked.

"I was daydreaming" he said.

"Good dream or bad?" I asked.

"Bad." he said. "About the devil."

The following has to do with something he hears frequently from another teacher.

"Talk. Talk. Talk. I'm going to jail for talking. Going to jail for talking. Well there are worse things than going to jail."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Going to hell."

"Well, I guess that's true," I said.

And though he is street, he posesses a child's earnestness.

Bad daydreams. A devil on his way to snatch, and a stop in jail on the way. Pants that don't fit, clothes that aren't clean. Bouts of ringworm and an aching hunger. Is it any wonder that he's mad at the world?

I would be too.