arrested

Yesterday one of my students was arrested in class. It was quite an eye-opening experiences.

Apparently, this student (I’ll call him J) has had trouble with the law before. He was suspended from his last school (I don't know why) in the middle of the school year and transferred to this class. At some point in the last year the police had to intervene and warned him that if they needed to be called again, they would cuff him and take him to the police station.

In the past seven weeks that I have been in his class, J has consistently displayed inappropriate behavior. He engages in frequent back-and-forth arguments with other students in the class and seems always to need to have the last word. I have heard him use words such as "faggot" and "ass" talking to other students. He is also reported frequently by the other students as fighting or being mean on the yard. The teacher told me that in the past, he also made sexually explicit remarks about her and about a female student to other kids during recess. My guiding teacher has worked really hard to talk to him privately and try to help him make better choices in the classroom.

On Thursday, however, three separate incidences forced the teacher to demand school administration to help her out. First, a female students’ mother came to class before school started and reported that J has been verbally harassing her daughter every day. He does it during class time and during recess. The mother also reported that yesterday J touched her butt. Second, while in line for recess, a male student told me that J had just told him that “his brother suck dick.” I pulled J out from the line and told him quietly that such language was unacceptable and we would talk about it with the teacher when she came back. Third, a fifth grade teacher approached me at lunch with one of her students, claiming that J threatened to beat him up the previous day.

My guiding teacher told me yesterday morning that the school police was coming for J at some point during the school day. As soon as the student began their morning routine, the teacher pulled the students out one by one to ask if any of them had been harassed or threatened by J. A half hour later, the assistant principal entered our classroom, followed by two tall police officers, fully uniformed and armed. The room fell silent.

The AP asked which student was J. He raised his hand. The police said he was to pack up his bag and come with them. They asked if he knew why they were there. He answered yes.

And then he was standing in front of the cops, handing over his backpack, with the whole class watching him. J was so tiny in front of the adult officers. They ordered him to put his hands behind his back. He hung his head low, moved his arms, and the police put handcuffs on his skinny little arms. The click of the metal was so loud in the classroom. The police led J into the hallway, with the AP following.

The AP reported later that they found a joint in J's backpack. He is suspended for a week from school, and will not be returning to our classroom.

J is nine years old.