Inner City Intensity

The most frightening and downright disturbing experience in Miss Sorensen's young life came during her first year of teaching. Like many teachers, she had the best intentions, and dreamed of changing the lives of students; helping them achieve success that they never thought imaginable. This was the main reason why she volunteered to work at an inner city school during her first year of teaching.

As much as she hated to admit it, she had been inspired by movies like Dangerous Minds and Stand and Deliver. She wanted to be that inspirational voice that pushed tough kids – the ones everyone else had given up on – to succeed rather than fail; to graduate, rather than drop out.

After accepting the position at one of the lowest performing, most dangerous schools in the inner city, Miss Sorensen had her most terrifying experience the day those kids walked through the door ... and the metal detectors just inside those doors. The confiscated item bins beside the metal detectors were full by the time everyone had checked in. Guns, knives, pipes, chains, nails, and all manner of other lethal objects had accumulated by the time the first bell rang. Did these kids really carry this many weapons? And how many weapons did they have on them that didn't set off the metal detectors?

But if she thought the morning prelude was the worst of it, she was sadly mistaken. Miss Sorensen entered the classroom to find her first period class completely out of control. They didn't listen to her polite requests, laughed in her face at the threat of detention, and seemed not to want to even listen or sit down in their seats, let alone learn anything. When Miss Sorensen became more forceful and demanded they take their seats, one of the more outspoken young men stepped forward. With an angry glint in his eye, he grinned at her, baring his crooked, metal-plated teeth.

"What you gonna do about it, lady? You gonna try and make me sit down?"

Not sure how to respond, the young thug took it as an invitation to continue.

"Maybe you should sit down, Teach. Right here on my lap. You look like you could use a good, long ride."

The rest of the class cat called and hollered approval at their classmate's boldness. Miss Sorensen had turned a bright shade of crimson and tried to disguise her embarrassment and shame at letting one of her students get the better of her like that. She was pretty sure she would have run from the room, if Principal McKenna hadn't stopped by her classroom at precisely that moment. For some reason or another, the students actually seemed scared of him, and they reluctantly took their seats upon his command.

Principal McKenna, upon restoring order, told her to let him know if she had any more trouble, and then promptly headed down the hall to another classroom, where another new teacher was presumably in need of some order and discipline. Her own room's air of respectful quietness was short-lived; thirty seconds after he had left, the kids were out of their seats and talking again.

The student called out to her again. "Yo, Teach. Make sure you go running to your boyfriend whenever we hurt your feelings!"

From the conversations with his peers, Miss Sorensen figured out this boy's name was Marcus. She decided not to let him get the better of her.

"Marcus, right?" She said in her best brave voice. "I noticed that you're on the basketball team. Did you know that failing any class makes you ineligible for the team?"

Anger flashed in Marcus' eyes. She wasn't quite ready for the level of animosity and sheer hatred that was burning in the kid's eyes.

"You best shut your mouth, Teach." He replied in a low, menacing voice. "Basketball's the only thing I got that's gonna get me outta here. You fuck with that; you're going to be sorry. You think those metal detectors out there make you safe? Huh? You don't think I could get you, anywhere, anytime? Don't you ever threaten me again, bitch."

Miss Sorensen was speechless with terror. At worst, she had imagined a student ignoring her, or being unruly. But here she was on her first day of school, and her safety was being threatened by a student. Mercifully, the bell rang and the students quickly filed out of the room, including Marcus, who glared at her all the way from his desk to the door, before slamming it on his way out.

That night, Miss Sorensen went home and bawled her eyes out. What had she gotten herself into? And how on earth was she going to teach a bunch of kids who didn't want to learn?

More importantly, would she have to spend the rest of the year looking over her shoulder, wondering if a student was going to come after her and cause her bodily injury because she was tough on them, sent them to detention, or gave them a failing grade?

She had the sickening, desperate feeling that she had made a big mistake.



(855 words)