I Talk With Megan.

After school today, Megan Scott came into the North Fork Lab to pick up some printing. She is a History teacher and a member of Project Promise 13. She has always been very kind and supportive and willing to talk if I need it.

As I had just had the talk with Mr. Williams about H. and his continuing troubles and disruptions in the classroom, I needed a little talk about handling tough kids.

Megan was pretty helpful.

She pointed out that in her Project Promise, which had completely different instructors than my Project Promise, the students were continually drilled with the idea that if the teacher only cared enough or gave enough or loved enough, the student would always come around and become a model human being.

As we all know, and as Megan pointed out, sometimes, you can't reach every kid. Much like an alcoholic has to want to stop taking drinks and nobody else can make them do it, a kid needs to want to turn things around. A teacher can't "care" them into changing their attitude about school. If you can't reach that really tough and resistant kid, it doesn't mean that you are a failure.

Megan said that you try to touch the students that you can and teach the students that want to learn. Sometimes, however, you need to realize that you have done what you can and that you will be here in the future if the kid wants to talk or needs help, but that you aren't going to keep busting your butt for someone that doesn't care.

Mr. Denise calls them "Energy Sinks." Not "sync," as in synchronization, but "sink" as in "sinkhole." A place where energy goes, but never comes out. I think that, unfortunately, they exist and sometimes, they are in your classroom.