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9.16.09

Today was the first day at Gateway Longview. My placement is
with the residential treatment program’s school, which includes classrooms that
are 6:1:1 (6 students, to 1 teacher, to 1 aide). These kids have been referred
to this school by the courts. Many of them are PINS, or Persons In Need of
Supervision. The school is structured differently than any other school I’ve
been in. It took me little while to accept the fact that it is different but
accepting makes the way that they run things not so foreign.

 

My placement is with Mrs. Colleen Witkowski, she teaches
high school level history and algebra. The first class is homeroom, this, and
much of the rest of the day, consisted of meeting the students, learning some
of the many rules, and observing the different school setting. The school is
strict, and for good reason. These kids need structure and although at times it
seemed chaotic to me, it was under control. During 3^rd period Mrs.
W’s aide, Mrs. Kim (although all the students refer to aides as Miss or Mr. and
there first name) showed me about their recording system for kid’s behavior,
“School Note”. It’s a worksheet that is broken down into 20-minute time slots
where the kids can either earn or lose points. Some of the dockages include
object respect and personal respect. One of the problems with this chart, as
cited by Miss Kim, is that a kid can be good most of the day but have one bad
20-minute slot and ruin their overall score. The points that they accrue, which
has to be 80% everyday, move them up or down in levels. There are four levels
that correspond with certain privileges. Although I’m not sure what all the
privileges include I know that kids can earn traveling in the hallways by
themselves, which is an influential incentive. Level fours have little to no
privileges.   

 

Some of the other foreign policies, no pun intended, are
time outs. The kids in the classes I’m with act out, which is called a crisis
or crisis situation, in somewhat violent ways. Kids who act out are sent to
time out. The time out room has extra aides who are there to monitor outside
the room. The room itself is an empty brick walled room. The purpose of this
room is just to get the kids out of the situation they were in, and away from
the other students.

 

The way that Mrs. Wit teaches is a more laid back style. She
told me that getting 30 minutes of material in a 40-minute period was her goal.
When the kids come into the classroom it takes a lot of effort to get them
settled. So her approach is to give them a few minutes and then let them
settle, it worked well for these groups.

 

The kids themselves are a very diverse group. They come from
different places and backgrounds. Many of the kids have ADHD and it was
apparent which ones. There was one boy, T, in the only 8^th grade
class that seemed to almost be in pain because he had to sit in a chair and pay
attention. He would have sudden outbursts and was chatting loudly through most
of the class. But when directly asked a question he would take a minute and
find the answer. Many of the kids, including T, employ attention-seeking
behaviors. Seeing as I was new some of the kids took advantage of that, just to
test my limits.

 

9.18.09  

The kids are starting to open up more to me because I’m not
so new. One girl, C, is still trying to decide if I’m a threat or a friend. I
hear from Mrs. W, that she doesn’t like white women, but she talked a little
bit to me today. Slowly I’m also starting to hear some of the kid’s stories.
The one boy in the 8^th grade class, T, has a serious history of
sexual abuse, to the point of torture. I’m sure that many of these kids have
similar backgrounds.

 

Because today was Friday many of the kids were excited to go
on home visits this weekend. The kids who are not on AWOL watch, suspended, or
restricted can go on home visits. Fridays also mean that some kids can wear
their own clothes, they don’t have to wear the khaki pants and black polo.

 

This facility is great for getting kids away from
unfavorable environments. But sometimes coming here makes kids learn negative
behaviors. There is a girl here, D, who came here and didn’t swear, and was
relatively non-violent. She is younger, 7^th or 8^th grade,
and she was staying with older high-school aged girls. After about a week she
was swearing, being violent towards staff, and swearing at staff. This is
similar to the argument that criminals go to prison and learn how to be better
criminals.

 

9.21.09

Today was my 3^rd day at Gateway and it was
volatile. M, a girl who used to be in the residential program who is now in the
day treatment, was heard screaming and yelling about every little thing. She
was having a crisis in the early part of the day and was riled up for the rest
of the day so that everything set her off.

 

Lunch was generally quiet but after lunch is the 8^th
grade history class. T was incredibly excited and hyper today. He couldn’t sit
in his chair and he seemed manic. Around 2:30 he had to be chased down the hall
and restrained by 2 aides to go into time out. A girl in my homeroom class was
also having a bad day. C was defiant all day, she was very upset when she got
docked in the morning and continued her attitude through the rest of the day.
During study hall she was defiant at every opportunity that arose. The problem
with many of these kids is that once they get riled up it is hard for them to
deescalate.

 

Today I realized how important points are to these kids.
They are a bargaining chip to a degree and a lifeline. If the kids don’t make
their points for the month it may mean no home visits or off-campus privileges.
That is why many of them get so upset when they get dockages.

 

9.23.09

The more time that I’ve been spending with these kids the
more that I get to know them. They are becoming more familiar with me in the
classroom and I can have conversations with them.

 

There was a fight early in the morning between 2 girls. The
situation was that one girl D was making fun of DN’s family and she got angry.
They grabbed each other’s hair and were cursing and hitting each other, they
had to be pulled apart and put in time-out. These girls are not the first
fights that I’ve witnessed and getting mad and acting out seems to be a daily
occurrence.

 

I’ve also seen many different styles with the aides. Miss
Kim has an effective method with dealing her students. The kids know that if
she says to do something and they don’t, they will get a dockage. She doesn’t
bargain or issue empty threats. Some of the other aides take the approach of
being a friend; this doesn’t work out well for them. The one aide with this
style is very unsuccessful at getting his kids to cooperate, they are
disrespectful to him and they are reluctant to do anything that he says.

 

Another unsuccessful approach is inconsistency. Miss Kim is
consistent with discipline, and she doesn’t take points from one kid that she
wouldn’t take from another. The kids know this and usually comply with orders,
or suggestions.

 

9.25.09

Today Mrs. Wit, the teacher I’m usually with, wasn’t here
and Gateway has a hard time getting substitute teachers. I helped out today
with getting the kids through some material, some of the classes more than
others. One of the global classes was not productive at all because I had no
help from the aide. She should have been running the class, but instead wanted
to play chess with another student not in her class. It must be difficult for
the regular staff teachers when they don’t have support from the aides.

 

One girl this morning had a crisis because of a dress code
issue. On Fridays there is a dress down day for certain students. The kids are
allowed to wear their own clothes within limits. J was breaking dress code and
was angry when her aide told her to cover up or change. She spent most of the
day in timeout. When she came back to class she was on level 4, which is one of
the most restrictive levels and the kids are not supposed to talk to her. I
believe that is because they don’t want the crisis situation to be brought back
up and possibly upset the person again.

 

I talked with Miss Kim for some time today about the different
reasons that kids are here. Many of them have drug offenses against them or
assault, but a surprising number have molestation, pedophilia, or other sexual
crimes in the backgrounds. Some were the victims but others were the
perpetrators. An example twin boys J and K and another boy went AWOL and its
thought that they raped another boy. J and K are the victims of sexual
molestation from their older brother, who was also at gateway but graduated,
and they in turn molested others.

 

Although this information is disturbing, it’s essential to
learning why these kids are here. I’m glad, however, that I made my own
conclusions about them before knowing their pasts. I want to believe that these
kids are inherently good and that the environments turned them for the worse.
Many of these kids don’t have support systems; no parents or parents are drug
addicts, or older siblings that are inappropriate. Another girl SS came here
beaten to a bloody pulp. She had been in the hospital in a coma. Originally her
stay was for her own protection, I don’t know if it’s evolved to something
else.

 

9.30.09

Today was generally a calm day, which was a change from the
fights, and verbal threats. Some things that I’ve noticed are that some of the
kids have many talents but don’t have many outlets. Many of the kids excel at
poetry. They write song lyrics, much of it riddled with emotion. With the
problem that these kids have with anger, writing could be used as a serious
outlet for emotions that the kids find overwhelming or can’t express in a
healthy way.

 

I find it unusual that these kids don’t have more therapy
options. Most of them have to take anger management classes, and many of them
also are on medications. The part that is more upsetting is that they only meet
with a psychiatrist once every 3 months or so. The psychiatrist also doesn’t
consult with the people that are with the kids every day, the teachers and
aides, to get a more detailed evaluation of the kid’s behaviors. 

 

10.2.09

Today I helped out subbing for Mrs. Wit while she stepped
out for a few periods. The morning was been pretty subdued. The kids were
really productive during the week so Mrs. Wit usually gives them a free day
when they’ve earned it. We’ve also gotten 3 new students in the last week. It
is interesting to see the new kids come in; it is really like most other
schools when new kids come in. Some are shy and some fit right in. Many of
these kids already know each other from either being in lock-up together, or in
other facilities, many are relatives.

 

I see that many of the kids have talents, if it were
nurtured, in writing or singing, and even budding actors. Unfortunately most of
them aren’t encouraged to pursue these interests because of the dysfunctional
families that they come from. Ty talks about being a basketball player, and
aspires to play in college. I hope that he makes it there. A minority of the
kid’s talk about going to college, the majority talks about college parties,
and how they want to go.

 

With so many of these kids in Anger Management classes it
seems that encouraging them to write would be a helpful outlet. DV likes to
write raps, essentially poems, and they are dripping with emotions that they
are unable to express. Writing can be such a helpful outlet and I would like to
hope that they are being taught to use it.

 

10.5.09

Again today I got to help out running some of the morning
classes, because Mrs. Wit had a family situation to settle. The kids were
generally cooperative and finished the material in the chapter. All the Global
classes are run by reading material out of their book and Mrs. Wit elaborates
on the more important points or people in the chapter. They usually complete
worksheets and vocabulary at the end of each unit as well.

 

One of the classes was difficult because they had a
substitute aide in. One of the boys in that class, E, is very disrespectful. He
treats women specifically like trash. So far he hasn’t been that difficult with
me but I believe that’s also because he was trying to decide if I could get him
in trouble. I don’t have the immediate power to take away points but if I spoke
to the class aide, points could most likely be docked. But, E was testing the
limits with me, and I had to be frank and tell him I was ignoring him if he
couldn’t be respectful and appropriate. It didn’t help the situation that his
regular aide wasn’t there because she is usually very aware of what her kids
are doing and intervenes when they become inappropriate. Many of the other
teachers think that his disrespectful nature may lead him to be a future
rapist. It is daunting to think that a 15-year-old boy could be capable of such
things by just observing his behavior in the school, but he’s not the first kid
that came through this system, that would come to commit a serious offense and
end up in prison.

 

10.14.09

Today was interesting because it was J’s last week, and the
first student that was going to be discharged while I was here. She was
generally exited about leaving, but I think she was also scared. I would think
that after being in such a highly structured environment that it would be
intimidating to go back into the real world, especially when a home situation
is not all that stable.  I found
out after that on her very last day, she had to be restrained because she was
going into crisis. She admitted that she didn’t want to go home and that she
was afraid.

 

10.19.09

Today was the first day that I’ve been here that Miss Kim
hasn’t. She was ill and the kids had no one to travel with them from class to
class so I filled in. This was extremely difficult because I’m used to having
kids that know the rules, and strictly follow them. These kids besides a few,
know the rules, but pretend they don’t. I’m also somewhat intimidated by them.
Most of the day was spent chauffeuring C, around and speaking with A., not to
curse. A. and C got -40 in science, C first and A. after class. C found here
dockage to be unfair because A didn’t get docked for swearing. A. then got
docked, and he was upset for the rest of the day. A is being discharged at the
end of the week, and it seems that he is having some of the feelings that J had
last week.

 

From the viewpoint of an aide I experienced first hand the
inadequacies of the “School Note’s”. I saw inequity in the points that are
taken. There is one student in particular that some of the teachers turn a
blind eye to. He doesn’t get in trouble for swearing, or being in other
teachers classrooms. It is these inequities that promote frustration between
the kids.

 

At the end of the day I had my first reconciliation with a
student. A. had been angry and upset most of the day and had been more than
disrespectful to me. When a student goes into timeout they have to reconcile
with the teachers whose class they left or any staff they may have
disrespected. This practice is helpful in that the kids have to be confronted
by the people they have been mean to, and accept the consequences.

 

10.21.09

Today was a rough day. The beginning of the day was filled
with some fun. Mrs. Wit declared herself queen on the classroom and kids
started chanting “Overthrow, Overthrow!” So we staged a coup and Ty. became
teacher for the period. He did a reasonably good job. It was a stress reliever
for the kids, although later in the day five out of the six kids in our class
were in timeout. The kids went to P.E. and there was a restraint, and another
kids walked in on it, thus he was suspended, which means that he can’t go off
campus or go on home visits. Study hall was low key, seeing as there were only
2 kids not in time out, until one of the kids, J., came back from time out that
wasn’t supposed to, and I witnessed my first restraint. It took me by surprise,
I wasn’t ready and it upset me. J., had been mouthy all day, he’s new and he’s
trying to figure out where he belongs. The students here respect Mrs. Wit and
J. was back talking to her, and Ty. told him not to do that. It says something
about a teacher when the students don’t want other students disrespecting her.

 

10.23.09

A. had his last day today, and we had a free day most of the
day. He had to go on a medical run and didn’t come back until later. One of the
classes, the younger kids, had to do work because they are behind and are
usually unfocused during class.

 

New boy B. started in one of our classes. He’s transitioning
from CAB because he’s been doing really well in his treatment program. When he
came into our classroom for study hall he was really excited when I told him he
could watch T.V. He hadn’t watched T.V. in around a year, because the CAB
buildings don’t have cable. So for study hall we watched Tom & Jerry.

 

A boy in one of the other classrooms returned from being
AWOL. JU. went AWOL for 2 days and returned to Gateway. When kids come back
from an AWOL they have to be one-to-one staff until they come off AWOL risk.
Mrs. Wit made him sign a “I promise not to AWOL over the weekend” contract. It
is not binding but the kids know that it matters to her for them not to AWOL.

 

10.26.09

Today was interesting mostly in the 8^th grade
class. DN was having a “pay attention to me” crisis and became very
disrespectful. She went to TO out and wa told that she needed to come back tot
the classroom to take care of her books and packets and until that time she was
going to lose TC, task completion, and AA, assigned area, every 20 min. She was
not happy about it and attempted to do what she was told but with the attitude
that she didn’t like what she was doing and didn’t care about the consequences.
Thus she continued to lose points for the rest of the day.

 

Today was also DV’s last day. He was excited about leaving
but also skeptical. He talked as if he knew once he left it was only a matter
of time until he got into trouble. It is sad that the kids have no belief in
themselves to be able to go down the right path. Another teacher and I were
also going through the different expenses that go into a car, because DV wants
to purchase one, but he didn’t think about all the little things, like
insurance, registration, and upkeep, that go into buying a car. 

 

Another thing I found interesting today was when one of the
teachers brought in her baby and the kid’s reaction to the baby. J. held the
baby and was very loving. He was adamant about getting to hold him and when he
did it was like a complete personality shift. Most of the kids are very caring
and careful when they get to hold a baby. It is very interesting to see such an
instant shift.

 

Starting on Tuesday there was going to be a new boy starting
in our homeroom. C. was upset about this, not because she would still be the
only girl in the our class but because, he two boyfriends were going to be put
into the same classroom. C. is dating ML. and JR. simultaneously. ML. is in CAB
and is transitioning to RES. ED. C. was hoping that one of the two might be
placed in our homeroom, so that they would continue not knowing about the
precarious dating situation.  

 

10.30.09

Today we celebrated Halloween. We did some reviewing in a
couple of the classes but today was mostly a fun day for the kids. DV. didn’t
end up leaving. He thought that it would be a lateral move for him. He was
going to be moving into a facility similar to Gateway, and be more likely to
get into trouble. So ultimately he decided to stay at Gateway but he is going
to have some more freedoms, which will hopefully help him transition better in
the future.

 

On Wednesday there was an incident that involved some
“horsing around”, and one of the boy’s J. took the other two’s advances as
threatening. Unfortunately for DV. and R. it got them into trouble because J.
is infamous for wanting to get others into trouble. So DV. and R. lost their
levels, and J. is hanging out in the cottage, taking advantage of the
situation, because he says he feels threatened. 

 

Toward the end of the day, the day-school kids were going to
be trick or treating on the residential side. Our kids were really excited
about it were very much in the Halloween spirit.

 

11.4.09

All the classes today were ending the near of the marking
period so it was time for notebook checks and back work to get done. It is
interesting to see the different work ethics in the kids. Some of them really
care about there grades and even if they passed an assignment they would do
corrections just to get a better grade. But others see the passing grade and
are satisfied.

 

Cell phones are not allowed in school, just like any other
school and today one of the aids tried to confiscate the cell phone. E. had a
cell phone all day and was not the best at concealing it. His aide and he have
a good relationship and are used to horsing around on occasion. They got into a
small wrestling match for the cell phone, in which E. narrowly won. This
incident in itself was good-natured and I think it speaks for the type of
relationship that these kids are looking for. They need stability and
companionship, but they also need a stable, reliable, and fair person to show
them rights and wrongs.

 

On a higher note C. in our class was going to her first
interview on Thursday and was practicing. It was very exciting for her.

11.6.09

It is always hard to hear of a child losing a parent. Today
was I.’s first day without a mom. She relinquished her parental right because
she was giving up on I. His mother sent the message along to I.’s social worker
and didn’t inform him herself. This was especially hard to hear, when we see I.
struggling everyday with some behavioral issues and unhealthy coping skills. I.
was handling this well, but I can only hope that he is getting the necessary
support from his social worker.

 

C. went to her job interview yesterday and got the job. She
is very excited to be starting. Many of the other kids have been filling out
job applications, to earn some money, although for some of them, it will all be
spent on sneakers.

 

11.9.09

Today was orientation. It was mostly about the policies at
Gateway. We thoroughly went over mandated reporting. Although it was not the
actual certification, we still went over when would be a situation that
reporting suspected abuse would be appropriate. I’ve been through certified
reporter training; so much of it was review.

 

During breaks I went down to visit with the kids in my
class. They didn’t have too much going on except C. was going to her first day
of work at 4.

 

 

11.13.09

DV. was added to our class on Thursday. He was not having a
good day, he was starting out the day in T.O. although I’m not sure why. By 2^nd
period half of our class was in T.O. because in science they were talking and
not doing work so, the teacher gave them each a 40 (verbal dockage) without any
warning. C. and TY. went into crisis because of this, L. didn’t go into crisis
because he was confused on the fact that they didn’t get a warning. As I was
coming back from the office with Ms. Wit we stopped in T.O. to see what was
going on. I ended up staying there for a while and talking with C. about her
new job and how that is going. She handles the pressure well at her job and has
a really good attitude and work ethic. She is nervous about another girl at
Gateway that is going to apply for job where C. works. S.S. doesn’t have a
great work ethic and is easily “disrespected”. C. is afraid that S.S.
reputation might bode ill for C.

 

In the 8^th grade class they had a test and they
were marginally better behaved today. The math class earned a free day and we
watched “UP”. Friday’s are usually good days because the kids are excited about
going home and this Friday was no exception.

 

11.16.09

Today I made some observations about the students in the 8^th
grade class. The girls in particular are extremely vicious. DN, D, and DS, are
all very manipulative, they are only nice to people as long as it serves a
purpose. D is particularly mean. J is another girl in the class and she is
white. She doesn’t fair as well as the other white girl at gateway because she
doesn’t assimilate to the girls already there. D was being openly mean to her
and lying to cover up her acts. I saw what happened and spoke to the teacher
after class. It’s interesting to see the dynamics between the kids.
Unfortunately the white girls don’t assimilate as easy as the white boys.
Although there are still differences among the boys they not as ostracized as
the girls.