Jenny walked into class late once again. She sat down at her desk failing to have a notebook or pen with her. When the teacher came around to collect last night's homework assignment Jenny didn't have hers. The teacher told Jenny that she was never prepared for class, and that if she wanted to pass her class she better start being prepared. To many teachers this student would probably appear to be a slacker. A student who doesn't care about their education. Through Jenny's eyes though it was a different story.

The day before Jenny went home and pulled out her notebook to do her homework. When she pulled it out of her backpack she discovered that she was out of paper. She went to her mom and told her she was out of paper. Her mom told her that she would have to wait until her father got home to see if he had any money. When her father came home he was drunk as usual. So much for asking her father for money. She asked her mom how she was suppose to do her homework. Her mom told Jenny to use a paper bag. Jenny pleaded with her mom telling her how embarrassing it would be to turn in her homework on a paper bag. Her mom just said it was better than not doing it at all. Jenny being the teenager that she was thought homework on a paper bag would be the end of her life. She became upset that she couldn't do her homework, and she asked her mom once again for money for paper. Her mom became angry telling her that they didn't have money for milk let alone paper. Jenny went to her room and slammed her door. She didn't understand why she couldn't have paper like all the other kids. That night she laid in her bed listening to her parents yell and scream at each other all night.

She didn't get much sleep and was really tired in the morning. She got ready as fast as she could and headed off to school, walking into class five minutes late. When the teacher began to walk around the classroom collecting the homework her heart began to pound. She knew she didn't have hers, and she sunk down in her chair in an attempt to not be noticed. In doing so the teacher told her she wasn't prepared and scolded her. Jenny thought to herself how am I supposed to be prepared when I don't even have paper? Time and time again these types of events happened to Jenny and one day she gave up and dropped out of school.

Years later Jenny wondered why the teachers were mean to her. Why it never seemed to cross their minds that maybe she didn't have paper or pens, maybe she didn't have glasses and couldn't read the board, maybe she was hungry because her parents didn't have money for food, maybe she was as prepared as she could be, and maybe she wasn't a slacker at all but just a troubled kid.

That troubled kid was me. I hope that by writing this it will open up teachers' eyes to these types of situations. Teachers need to be careful of what they say to their students because they really can change a child's life. Sometimes all it takes is one adult to reach out to them to change their life in a positive way. Unfortunately sometimes all it takes is a teacher putting them down to push them over the edge and out the door. A teacher's job can be difficult, but I urge all teachers to try and see things through their students' eyes and realize that many students share the same story as Jenny.

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