Tumbleweed

Tough

One of my students today told me she thinks she might be pregnant.  And that her ex-boyfriend beat her and still hangs around her house.  And that her mom’s boyfriend sometimes hits her siblings.  I asked why she thinks so many girls here get pregnant- “The boys make them, don’t you know the boys here?”.  

Yeah, I do know boys here.  ”Tough” boys.  I also know a lot of girls who have that other kind of toughness, the same student went on ahead and finished her test in class after talking to me, getting every question right.  

Mind the Gap: Different Kinds of Toughness - Notes from the Classroom - GOOD