When I taught junior high, it was at a rural “alternative” school — a school for students who had been expelled from other urban schools in the county. “At-risk” kids, if you like: Virtually all had chaotic home lives, or incarcerated parents, or something. There was also abuse, of course — although that issue was more the province of the social workers than the teachers. (This school had two full-time social workers on staff — for a student body of sixty kids in total.) The entire institution was specifically designed to educate this “population” of students: It was situated at some distance from other schools in the district, and was reached via a long ride through the countryside on an actual “short bus.” Continue reading →