Quest for Power

In a bilingual sixth grade, I noticed three white boys among seventeen brown-skinned Spanish kids. The white kids all had blond hair in bangs and wore glasses. They all looked like Harry Potter. Maybe it was intentional.

It was very noisy in that classroom, but they were working. They were working in groups. The school’s goals were all about integration and cooperation among races. Two languages were spoken. The assignment was written in Spanish, but everyone spoke English. They seemed to be able to understand the written word in both languages.

Soon the noise level became intolerable and the cooperation and work ethic that started out on the plus side, gradually declined. Kids began wandering around, horse playing – the old slap and tackle game prevails among sixth graders. The students told me they had completed their assignments and had nothing to do. This is a typical experience for me and forces me to be the disciplinarian.

“Why are you out of your seat?” I query.

“I had to get a pencil.”

The excuses pour forth from many students at the same time. I notice a lot of students just interrupt you if you are talking to another student.

“He took my pencil. Can I go to the bathroom? Can I go to the library to work on my project?”

They bombard you with questions. It is particularly difficult in sixth grade. This is the time when they want to be free but don’t know how to get there. By high school they have learned to play the game. They know how to get what they want without annoying the adults. But it’s a long process and a learning journey, discovering independence.

I guess that my role, as a substitute, is to allow them some freedom to explore the outside world. How is it out there? How will adults react? They are all so different from my teacher. What can I get away with?