So I have this brilliant student---amazing vocabulary, incredible artist, excellent writer, is on her second read-through of the novel we’re working on, and at lunch time engages me in these discussions about existentialism, gnosticism, and the existence of God. She asks me questions like "How do you think the concept of the ‘Old Soul’, relates to Nietzsche’s Eternal Return?", and "How do you think our greedy nature affects our spirituality?" She’s no ordinary freshman.
The problem is, her writing has become darker and darker, and she frequently includes some sort of violence, or threat of violence. Recently she has begun adding sexual content to her writing, and has said some slightly inappropriate and/or suggestive things to me. Now, I discover that the topic of her narrative writing assignment is "When I Discovered That I Don’t Fear Death", and it’s all about when she ran away from home because she was ashamed of an undisclosed incident. All indications are that this girl was abused, and her narrative indicates that something happened over four years ago that made her want to run away. Her story is heartbreaking, even though she doesn’t talk specifically about the abuse. I talked to my master-teacher about this and we ended up talking to this student about how she was feeling. She completely trusts my master-teacher so I felt like it wasn’t a betrayal, and I was correct. She seemed to welcome both of our comments. I told her that I was concerned for her well being based on her writing, her demeanor, and her many comments, and that the Wellness Center was available if she just needed to talk with someone. She said she could handle it herself. My master-teacher explained that everyone needs to vent once in awhile, and that it’s nice to be able to vent to a relative stranger. I concurred.
Fortunately, she seemed happy (if not a little taken aback) that we would show our concern the way we did. We didn’t tell her she had to go and talk to someone, but instead let her know what’s available and let her choose. Although I think I handled this okay, I don’t know if I can handle this on a regular basis. It’s too much. Also, I know that we are under legal obligation to report suspected abuse, but I think that this happened years ago. Anybody know the rules for this?
Ug.
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1 comment:
As far as legality, I know nothing. As far as your handling of this incident, I think you did a great job. Sometimes kids just need an adult they can trust to talk and vent their emotions. This is something that I, too, have had trouble with because when a kid tells you something huge, I feel like I have to do something. But the reality is you have done something by listening, and sometimes that is all the child needs. So I guess we can add counselor to the list of teachers' responsibilities.
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