Teacher Down!

By Waithley Lionel Williams

Room 301 at Fort Greene Academy High School in New York City is a turbulent place. Annette Kalin, an inexperienced ninth grade teacher, is in charge of leading a group of students who would rather be elsewhere. As she struggles to control the class and implement her idealistic vision, one student makes it his mission to make her life miserable.

Leon Simpson, a gangster wannabe, challenges every attempt that Ms. Kalin makes to maintain order in the classroom. Meanwhile, Kenesha, a student with a fiercely independent spirit, is determined not to let him impose his perverse will on any of his fellow students. Unfortunately, her success in restraining Leons destructive impulses only increases his hatred for Ms. Kalin. While she strives to educate her students, nearly every effort she makes is dismissed by her nemesis. As the semester comes to a close, Leon embarks on a vengeful quest amid a classic battle of the wills that culminates in an unthinkable tragedy.

In this poignant novel that provides an eye-opening look into a New York City high school classroom, an idealistic teacher is pitted against a rebellious student in a life-changing struggle for control.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Dec 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781480812499

Waithley Lionel Williams

Waithley Lionel Williams is a teacher and school administrator who worked for more than thirty years in the New York City public school system and other school districts. Now retired, he lives in Hempstead, New York.

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Copyright © 2014 Waithley Lionel Williams.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-1248-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1250-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-1249-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014920649

Archway Publishing rev. date: 12/4/2014

Contents

DEDICATION

TAKE NOTE!

Introduction

PART I

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

PART II

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

PART III

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

PART IV

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

AFTERWORD

References

APPENDIX

DEDICATION

I dedicate this book to the select few who, despite the pressures from great political forces, are willing to stand up for teachers and to stand strong against elements that see teachers as an easy target when it comes to laying blame for the failure to improve American education, despite the billions of dollars being spent to bring about change. They include the valiant leaders of the teacher organizations, brave students in the secondary schools, parents, administrators, and community leaders.

Yes. Teachers have their failings. But these individuals show great courage in defending a profession that has too many detractors and too few supporters in the power structures and influencers in the state houses, the congress, the business and political world.

TAKE NOTE!

Until the national conversation about education in American Schools begin to take into account the significant impact students and parents have on the results of schooling, there will continue to be an overemphasis on the failure of teachers to teach and consequently the implementation of misguided solutions to the problem of failing schools.

INTRODUCTION

I wrote this book with several purposes in mind. Topping the list is my hope that teachers and students will have an entertaining piece of literary fiction around which to involve themselves in serious conversations about the impact of students’ behavior on learning in the classroom. The Appendix is designed to facilitate this and to provide teachers with activities included in the Common Core curriculum.

I hope that administrators will take into consideration the impact that student behaviors have when assessing the effectiveness of teachers. I also hope for greater involvement by administrators in mentoring new teachers and working closely with them in managing the classroom for success.

I hope for greater involvement by parents in their children’s education by becoming active with the school throughout the year and not just at report card time.

Finally, I hope that the general public will find this book an entertaining piece of fiction that will provide insights into the attitudes, language, motivations, and fears that characterize life in many junior high and high schools in our large cities.

PART I

CHAPTER 1

A FLY ON THE WALL CAN TELL A REVEALING STORY. Especially eloquent would be one perched on a graying wall of the makeshift cafeteria at Fort Greene Academy High School for, there were rehearsed daily tales of the happenings in Room 301—tales of the trials and triumph, victories and failures, and every unrecorded mishap that troubled Ms. Annette Kalin, the ninth grade teacher, who called it her homeroom.

Versions of those misadventures varied by groups. At the table where Rochelle, Kenesha, Ephraim, and Amika were sitting, the mood was one of disgust and pity for those who have made it their focused mission to disrupt every attempt by their beleaguered teacher to impart an education; instead, they imposed on everyone an ethic of unrestrained thuggery.

Where Leon, Michael, Darrian, and Jack sat, the emphasis bordered on glorification of the tricks and troubles played on Ms. Kalin and her befuddlement in bringing them into the circle of productive effort.

For Damaris, Jovena, and Jewel, there was nothing useful, as they saw it, in the few activities that Ms. Kalin succeeded in introducing into the chaos and so they focused on methods and devices to seductively thwart the guys who wanted to have sex with them.

This day, the fly on the wall could hear the girls lamenting their misfortune at having to tolerate Leon and his stooges day after day after day. They wondered what it would take to get them expelled for all the disruption they caused.

Look how they come to class so late every day, observed Rochelle. I wish the safety officers would just leave them to waste time in the hall instead of bringing them in when we’ve already started to do some work in the class. They would come in with so much noise, and we have to stop working and wait fifteen minutes for Ms. Kalin to quiet them down. Sometimes, only after banging the yardstick on the desk for a whole minute would they quiet down a little.

Somebody has got to muzzle that jackass to keep his big mouth shut; otherwise, he keeps braying all day long and he’s saying nothing, lamented Amika, about the ringleader of chaos, Leon Simpson.

That’s right girl, agreed Rochelle, like how Kenesha shut him up today.

What happened? asked Amika.

When you was out with the pass, explained Ephraim, Leon started to mouth off at Ms. Kalin. Then he called her a piece of white trash. Some of his stooges started laughing and Kenesha stood up and stuff a sock in his mouth. This girl wasn’t playin’. She looked right at them and said, ‘Hey you morons, you letting that clown drag you all around like puppies. Don’t you see what he’s doing? He’s an ignorant pig, and he wants the rest of you to learn nothing and be just like him. Stop laughing when he act like a fool people!’

Hey, you go girl. Amika gave Kenesha a slap of admiration on the back. What did he say after you creamed him like that?

Nothing. He just sat there looking stupid, explained Rochelle. Nesha, I really like what you been doing to help Ms. Kalin. You’re making it easier for us who want to learn something. By adding that her classmates benefited from her no-nonsense stand against Leon, Rochelle made it easy for Kenesha, who didn’t care to be seen as standing up for Ms. Kalin, to accept the compliment. She hated suck-ups.

Thanks kid. I made up my mind since I came here and saw what’s going on that I’m not going to let that jackass stop me from getting out here with my diploma.

Rochelle reached over to give Kenesha a hug, but Kenesha gently pulled away. She was not comfortable with such displays of mushy sentimentalism prevalent among the girls. It was, however, the start of a friendship between them.

At Leon’s table, a strange gloating pleasure was derived from Ms. Kalin’s pain.

Hey son, you was tight what you say ‘bout the work she give us said Jack, slapping Leon on the back.

What he say? queried Darrian.

Wha’ happen to you? You was sleeping? When she give out the paper to write a paragraph, Leon said I not goin’ do this shit!"

O yea, agreed Mike. Did you see her face? Like she was ready to cry! Mike emitted a loud braying laugh. Would you believe she went and pick up the paper after Leon tho’ it on the floor?

I not goin’ do nothing for that bitch, Leon chimed in. She can cry blood if she want.

And when you was walking round the room and she tell you to sit down ...

Yea, Yea. Hear what Leon say, Mike interrupted. ‘Don’t order me around. You not my mother!’ And she stupid enough to ask Leon if he lis’en to his mother! What a dumb teacher. She know Leon wasn’t goin’ take that but she still open her big mouth."

Well she get what she was looking for ‘cause Leon shut the bitch up… ‘What the hell you know ‘bout my mother you white trash?’ recalled Mike, giving his best imitation of Leon, which drew raucous laughter from the others and startled everyone in the lunchroom.

That was when that big mouth ho got up and diss Leon. Son, said Jack addressing Leon, you have to do something with that bitch. She getting too big for her drawers.

Yea son. You should stick your fist down her throat, said Mike, stuffing his fists into his mouth.

A’ight guys. Lay off. I’ll handle it when I get ready. Leon didn’t like being pushed. He had decided to deal with Kenesha at the time and place he chose.

For Damaris, Jovena, and Jewel, it was all much ado about nothing. They couldn’t be bothered with the drama between Leon, Kenesha, and Ms. Kalin. They just sailed along with the rising and falling action in Room 301. When Leon and his stooges were cutting up, they took in the scene and enjoyed a good laugh. When, on rare occasions, the room was quiet and work was happening, they would either spend the time gossiping or doing nothing at all.

The entry of Ms. Annette Kalin on the stage at FGA seemed innocuous enough. There was nothing unusual about her arrival several weeks after the start of the semester, for the New York City school system is so large, it could adjust to changes in the teacher ranks at any time in the school year. Like a well-oiled machine, the system moves uninterrupted, utilizing interchangeable parts and substitutions as the need arises. Yet, such unmolested calm and the aura of normalcy belied the existence of pockets of simmering turmoil. So complacent, in fact, were the actors who strutted about the massive stage that many were unaware of those events that held within them the seeds of calamity.

In the end, the tale told by the fly on the wall, was the story that unfolded in the searing heat of Room 301. It was the passage of one school community from passive naiveté to collision with the hard edges of cold reality.

CHAPTER 2

ROCHELLE REMEMBERED THE FIRST TIME SHE SAW MS. Kalin. It was two weeks into the new school year, and Mr. Hudson had left on sick leave. When they arrived, Ms. Kalin was pasting Stick-it chart paper to the blackboard.

Having a new teacher always produced feelings of uncertainty for Rochelle. Unlike most of her classmates, she valued the friendship of her teachers, although some pushed back gently, preferring to maintain a professional distance.

Their departing teacher, a middle-aged man with many years experience in the city school system, had been her friend, and she was expecting that even if their new teacher was an older person, the same relationship could be maintained. It was a surprise to see a young woman replacing Mr. Hudson, but now she was more hopeful that the new term would be fun.

Even with a largely African American student body, the staff was mostly white. They were older too. Ms. Kalin was not only young, she was also attractive, about five feet six inches, wearing designer glasses with the initials AK on the frame. Her white blouse was tucked neatly into a brown tapered skirt that reached just below the knees. Her hair was pulled back and plaited into one large braid that reached down her back to just below her shoulders. It made her look modern, modest, and attractive.

As she furtively eyed the new teacher, Rochelle wondered how the boys would react to having such an attractive teacher. Maybe they would clean-up their language and not swear so much. That would be great, she thought. The constant cussing and swearing made the class feel cheap, like a street hangout, instead of a place where people come to learn and get some manners.

But few, if any, noticed her. Instead, the room buzzed with arguments about fights, who started them, hot movies, other salacious happenings, and lots of talking junk.

Anybody seen what happen to that woman in Bed Stuy Sunday night? Leon queried.

Which woman? asked Daquan.

She got her hand blowed off holding onto her pocketbook, explained Leon with a cold ease and disdain for the enormity of the loss to the victim.

Yeah. That was on TV all evening.

She too damned stupid. That nigger wanted money, and she holding on to the pocketbook like it’s stuck to her. He took out a piece and blowed off her hand. Shit …

If it was me I’d drop that bag and run so fast, Superman couldn’t catch me! Amika added.

The woman at the front continued writing.

Today’s Topic: Active Listening

Teaching Point: Active listening means listening with an engaged mind.

DO NOW: On a sheet of paper, write a question about anything you observe that’s new in the room, then answer the question as best you can.

All this time, she was invisible to the class. Mathue and Darrian came late and slammed their backpacks down like sandbags. Jack and Shaquan sat on the desks with their feet on the chairs. Rouben got his kicks pulling the cord then allowing the window shade to snap like tattered flags in a gale. Annoyed, Kenesha yelled, Boy, are you stupid or what? He ignored her.

Angela and Seronda shared an earphone, visibly enjoying the latest rap hit. Rochelle was wondering if the woman would ever speak when Natalia yelled, Hey, everybody! We have a sub today! Are you the sub, Miss?

Underneath the thin, shy smile, Rochelle noted a sense of relief at being recognized.

Good morning class—

Who the hell are you? Leon interrupted.

Instinctively, Rochelle’s sense of fairness told her that this was an uneven battle and Leon would win. Oh, God, not again, she prayed. How many times had this kid caused her stomach to churn! What power was there to harness and check his tongue, so loose and lethal! But she sat helpless, afraid for the woman she didn’t yet know.

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Leon was tall for his age. He kept his hair cut short and well groomed. Yet, he was always brushing it as if to remove some stubborn irritant. On his right wrist, he wore a large plastic band, colored bright blue. He was never without it. Like the other boys, he wore his trousers low, exposing checkered boxers like so many patchwork