Assassination List - 9/10/07

Today I was really on the receiving end of attitude. I’m not even teaching the class yet and the students have an issue with me. But I’ve learned that I cannot let them get away with saying whatever they want. They are allowed to be rough around the edges but they must also be respectful. I’ll have to work on being more of an authoritative figure in the room. Today I was walking around and helping students with their work when I overheard a conversation between a male and a female student. The female student had a notebook out and to my surprise the page it was opened to was labeled “Assassination List” and was followed with a list of her “enemies” with the words “bang, bang” written all over the page. I walked over and said in the sweetest voice possible, “What in the world is this?” and she openly told me that it was her was her assassination list and that the girls listed on the page were her enemies. She told me everything and didn’t leave much out. I was shocked. I immediately told my cooperating teacher and we both went straight to the girl’s guidance counselor after class. To my complete and utter surprise, she guidance counselor claimed she was too busy and later emailed my cooperating teacher, telling him that she has too much on her plate to deal with that issue now, but to contact a social worker if he felt the need. Couldn’t this staff member be fired for this? Isn’t there a zero tolerance policy on assassination lists? We contacted the social worker and got the student counseling. This is why there are so many shootings in schools…people don’t do their jobs and tragically people die as a result.