Saturday, November 17, 2007

How Do I Deal With This?

I had a death threat this week, it kind of threw me off. It was on a post it note that was put in my box, and it took me about a day to figure out who wrote it. My principal dealt with the situation, and I was very thankful that she had experience and the knowledge needed to deal with it appropriately.

I was talking to my mom this week and trying to figure out how I deal with this student being back in my class on Monday. I am angry. No one should have the right to say those kind of things, especially to their teacher. The reality is I am angry with a 7 year old, and I don't trust this particular student. I don't want to make a greater rift in our teacher/student relationship, but how can I not treat them differently...knowing they want me dead.

I truly hope that they don't understand what it means, and I hope that it was something written in anger and frustration, not as a genuine threat. But the words "Ms. J, I will kill you." are now burned in my mind. And I don't know what these students have access to at home...so the reality is that some of them could potentially carry out a threat like this. I don't want my mind to go there though, I can't live in fear. I guess all I really can do is what I have been doing all along, which is tough love towards all my students, and hope that they see how much I genuinely care about them. And pray that God gives me guidance on how to treat this particular situation.

I am glad I get to go home in 3 days.

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