Tolerating School Vandals

I’m an elementary school teacher. Last weekend my room was broken into again. This time they let the fire extinguisher off, making my room unsafe to enter for a week.

This will be my fourth year teaching, and I’m tired. From the very first day when I was given the key to a barren classroom full of 32 screaming kids, I knew something had gone terribly wrong.

In my four years I have seen three vice principals come and go, along with four or five coordinators. I’ve lost count. (Not to mention teachers.) No one wants to be here, and no one wants to stay. And who would, in a school where break-ins are commonplace, materials are scarce and the outlook is bleak.

I say three strikes and you’re out. This is the third time my classroom has been broken into, and I’m calling it quits.

Strike out the vandals who have free access to enter and destroy our children’s second home. Strike out the neglect of our school by its surrounding community. And finally, strike out the complacent administration that allows the damage to continue.

What we are saying is that we expect chaos. That we expect vandalism. We expect failure.

I’m tired of the violations and complacency. What we really need is a vision. A collective group of parents, students, teachers and administrators whose primary objective is to create a better school than we had yesterday.

ALLISON BOYCE

Los Angeles