For the parents
And anyone else that reads this.
I work in a fairly small charter school. Around 300 students, actually. The teachers know most everyone within the walls. When something happens to a kid, even if they aren't "your" student, they still are.
Friday night, our school held its first dance. The parents put it on, and it seemed most of the kids were having a good time, especially the younger ones. However, some kids left the dance early.
They found themselves in a bit of trouble, as kids will often do when unsupervised. I cannot say exactly what happened, as I do not know...however, the end result was nothing short of horrific for me as this is my first time dealing with an issue like this.
Those beforementioned students crossed words evidently with kids from another school. Somehow, one of the kids got singled out from the group, and was beaten unconscious by four kids with baseball bats.
He lost seven teeth, had a broken jaw (which is now wired shut) severed his lower lip and tongue, had a large cut on the back of his head (now stapled together) and now has a metal plate in his skull. He is facing about a year's worth of reconstructive surgery. Evidently his attackers, all minors, focused mainly on his face.
I cannot tell you how hard it was to hold tears back in that early morning meeting today. It's still hard, and this kid wasn't even one of "mine."
There were no parents around this house. I doubt any of these kids' parents had a clue where their kids were.
Please, I implore you, if your son/daughter has a cell phone, then by god, call them. Check up on them. My mom would have done it had I had a cell. There is no reason to not know where your kids are. I'm not trying to make these people seem like bad parents, but a little friendly intervention early on might prevent something like this from escalating.
It is a sad and tragic thing that has been done to this 16 year old. Yes. Just 16. We don't know if he'll make it back for the school year or not.
I know I didn't say it at the time, but I am so appreciative of my mother being "in" my life. Please, please, "be" in your kid's life. Even if it annoys them. Better to annoy than to flat-out alienate or ignore completely. Let's try and let our kids be kids as long as they can, so they do not have to deal with so many things like these.
There were probably about 15-20 kids who witnessed this attack. They were all very visibly shaken; some didn't even come today, and I'm sure our principal will excuse those absences.
So for those who think I have no sense of humor, think real hard before you ask me that question again. There are a lot of reasons why I might lose my sense of humor, and this is just one.
Originally Posted by bandnerd
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