As I sit and write about my experiences in the school system, I’m reminded of how many teachers and administrators currently in the school system are not there for the kids.
Or, it sure feels that way.
If you are a teacher, administrator, or staff member, you are working in the school to “give.”
Every day of my life, I wake up with the attitude to give.
I’m 47 years old, and I’ve lived a wonderfully whole life with nothing to complain about.
That doesn’t mean I don’t complain and/or gripe…
Nevertheless, it’s time to give back and share some of my life experiences over the last 47 years or 25 years with the people I come into contact with daily. The last 25 years include my military service, law enforcement, and financial business ventures, including traveling.
I’ve mentored numerous people in my past careers, yet, I’ve had several mentors who have shaped me into the person I am today. So far, I’m still a work in progress.
Now, it’s time to give back.
Giving back means volunteering, donating time/money, raising funds, and joining a group or organization that’s already in the trenches doing the heavy lifting.
This is where I’m at my best. In the trenches doing the heavy lifting. No one cares, but the work has to get done.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Currently, I’m working in a middle school as one of the Social Emotion Learning team members.
This job title is the School Climate & Safety Officer to be responsible for the school’s overall safety and security. The position plays a critical role in the school’s culture and climate.
School Climate & Safety Officers are actively involved in the progressive discipline system and supplement the on-site security team as the first line of defense to defuse and de-escalate student misconduct and/or serious incidents.
Climate team personnel actively teach students the social skills necessary to succeed in the classroom and school community.
The first statement sets the tone for the low annual salary (22,050), yet, the position plays a critical role in actively being involved in the progressive discipline system and supplements the on-site security team.
Who is the on-site security team? There is one school resource officer on Patrick Henry Middle school campus; therefore, the security team would consist of both School Climate officers. Within the last 12 weeks, I (personally) have broken up numerous fights that resulted in minor bumps and bruises to my body.
On 28 September 2022, at or around 11:50 a.m. (7th Grade Lunch), I broke up two boys (7th Graders) from fighting in the cafeteria. Because of my military and law enforcement training, I was able to clinch the bigger student from hitting me (i.e., struggle or scuffle at close quarters, especially where the person wraps the other person in order not to get punched or hit). During the struggle, my glasses were knocked off of my face; yet, in the process of the struggle with this student, I was able to bring him to the door (outside of the cafeteria), where a coach grabbed him and took him out of the cafeteria. Though, I turned around in order to tell the 7th graders (approximately 170 7th-grade students in the cafeteria) to sit down when the student came back at me in the cafeteria.
Students were rebellious and rowdy watching this altercation. Again, I had to clinch this student again in order to get him under control in which we fail to the ground (injuring my knee and shoulder), but I was finally able to get him to calm down and under control again. This time, the school resource officer and coach were there to assist me. I sustained a right knee and shoulder injury while struggling to stop this student from seriously injuring another student.
Nevertheless, as I walked back into the cafeteria, another fight ensued in which two girls (7th graders) were on the floor fighting. The Assistant Principal (Mrs. Brown) was knocked down to the ground sustaining minor injuries, and I again had to break up the fight between these two girls with the assistance of the school resource officer.
On Monday, 3 October 2022, I confronted a student with a gun in the restroom next to the cafeteria. As I was standing in the cafeteria directing 6th-grade students where to sit, I observed several boys walking into the restroom next to the cafeteria. As I walked toward the restroom, several boys ran out of the restroom shouting, “he’s got a gun,” in which I kept walking until the boy in question (a student with the gun) stopped at the doorway of the restroom. I looked at his hands, where he had his right hand on his backpack and his left hand down by his side. I immediately grabbed him and the bag in which another student said the gun was in his right pocket. I very carefully pulled the weapon out of the student’s pocket. Nevertheless, the gun had a red tip; later, finding out it was a BB gun that his mother had bought him.
Within the past several weeks of school at Patrick Henry Middle school, there have been moments (and days) of students’ rebellious, loud, and rude behavior, especially during all three lunches (6th, 7th, and 8th). I have broken up five fights during one week alone, in which students sustained minor injuries fighting (hitting each other). Moreover, most of these students believe fighting is the answer to their problems.
Every day (throughout the school day), I’m being called to multiple classrooms because of disciplinary problems, where students are disobedient, unruly, loud, and disrespectful. For instance, I was called the N-word while substituting in a class that was created with NO teacher (i.e., “Dumb ass Nigger!”).
After class, I was going to escort this student to the front office when he ran from me, creating a chaotic situation where other students began to run out of control. This created an unsafe situation where several students could have been hurt/injured.
The bottom line is that I’m not getting paid to deal with these issues, and there is NO amount or overtime for the number of fights and altercations.
This is just a taste of what I’ve dealt with over the last several months of school.
As I write about my experiences, I’m still giving back to the students, coaching, teaching, and mentoring.
A student asked, “Mr. Doucet, why aren’t you our AP” (Assistant Principal).
I’ve never had a desire or even thought about being an Assistant Principal. I’ve held several positions where I was in the position to say more, do more, give more, and put a foot in somebody’s ass because they weren’t doing their job.
Lastly, my favorite quote is from the movie “Friday night lights.” The Head football coach talks about being perfect, in which later in the movie, he explains what perfect means.
He said, “Being perfect is not about that scoreboard out there. It’s not about winning. It’s about you and your relationship with yourself, your family and your friends. Being perfect is about looking your friends in the eye and knowing that you didn’t let them down because you told them the truth.