Late night phone calls

Last night, I was sitting at home, reading and getting ready for bed, when I heard my phone ring. I thought it might be friends, encouraging me to change my mind and meet them at a bar somewhere. I also thought about getting up to answer it, but decided it wasn't worth the effort.

This morning, I checked my phone and was surprised to note that the phone call was from an unidentified Philadelphia number. I give my cell phone number to my students' parents, but I rarely hear from them on weekends, and even more rarely still after 11pm. Anxiously, I checked the voicemail, ready to hear a screaming parent complaining about something I had either said, done, not said, or not done. I mean, if you're going to call a teacher at 11:14pm, it must be a big deal.

Instead, I heard one of my students, obviously in tears. "Ms. Jenkins, this is ________. Can I please retake my test so I won't have to go to summer school? I'll try my best. I promise. Please don't make me go to summer school. Call me back on my cell phone. The number is xxx-xxx-xxxx."

I have two thoughts on this:

1. Stop yelling at other students during class. This will make teachers more willing to help you.

2. This child, to his credit, does ALL of his assignments. He turns in all of his homework. He reads at home every single night. And yet he still reads below grade level. As much as we hate labeling students "special ed," sometimes they DO need special services. And our school should provide them without (necessarily) requiring that kids attend summer school).