and then there is ...frisco, a throw back to the seventies in striped green and yellow collared shirt (instead of his uniform) and matching sneakers (the new thing is to match them) who wanders the hallway with his fanny pack and pony tail telling me that he does want a high school diploma but yeah he is seventeen and has few credits. When I ask him when he might get serious and start turning up he says, "it's not that easy Miss, you think it's easy." I look at him and tell him, sincerely, that I know it is not but that it certainly won't get easier. He says, "I was working." To which I respond, "You might have to give that up if you really want the diploma," and he says, "I know. That's not easy either." We both know what he is telling me. Neither knows what to do about it.

Or Josh, who wants me to take him to a play, and I said, Ok, I will (I took him last year) if he comes to school for the whole month of February. "Too easy." He says. I doubt he will make it. I told him he only had to pretend to be awake. That got a smile.

Or Edny who I told to read Running With Scissors because he is gay and hates my hair and mocks me daily, and needs attention so badly. He is so proud to have the book and came to show me his organized binder, insisting that this was one of his "major goals" this semester.

Or Jonathan who wants to beat me up when I force him to remove his hat and insist that his colors are not acceptable on our floor. Other kids nod to him as though he were a celebrity. I chase him off the floor when I discover that he has no lunch. I admonish another boy who is trying to copy his mannerisms. He comes to my class off and on weekly and will never get credit for the year. He will eventually drop out as it is fairly clear he is not interested in school except as a place to sell.