This article was posted on a library list that I follow. The author writes young adult books, but what struck me was the headline about "Tough Teens". In my library, I see the tough teens on a regular basis particularly at this time in the semester. It was the strangest realization in this job that the kids that didn't want to go to class might seek out the library for refuge. They also get assigned to study hall in the library when they have to be dropped from a class mid-semester and they have a hole in their schedule. I've had several tough teens cross my path. Two of them have been on my mind a lot lately and this article brought them to the forefront again.
One is a foster child who I suddenly noticed in the library last week. She hasn't been going to classes and apparently has been moved from foster home to foster home multiple times. This week she was moved into two periods of study hall officially, but in reality she's spending four periods in the library. The irony is that she loves books. She's been reading rapidly and voraciously since I first noticed her last week. She even sat down to talk books with me during my lunch break one day when I was reading under a tree out on campus. Her story saddens my heart, because I know she will soon move on and the "academic" environment of school doesn't work for her. Yet, books do. What can we do to help students like this one? What is right/wrong in our system that these students get moved and viewed as a problem child with no hope? What hidden dreams does she have?
The second is a young man who I met last year in study hall, also. He's one of the frustrating ones because he is very intelligent but completely disengaged from school. He puts on a tough guy persona and may be involved in some unsavory activities that will not serve him well for the future. Yet, he too loves to read and he's always asking me for recommendations. He wants the "gang books", but he'll take on anything that has a gritty edge. I gave him Luis Rodriguez' Always Running and he wanted more. He too is a "tough teen" but what does he really need from school. I know a little of his background and family life doesn't fit the ideal by any stretch. He's transferring to our continuation school in a few weeks and he's picked back up his pattern of cutting. I'm seeing him regularly these days as he cuts to the library. His story also saddens my heart. Books also provide him with answers that he doesn't get in the classroom. And my previous questions apply here, too. What can we do to help students like this one? What is right/wrong in our system that these students get moved and viewed as a problem child with no hope? What hidden dreams does he have?
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