Things that Make You Go Hmmmm

There are some wierd things about being a teacher. It's strange to me that a kid who isn't permitted to be anywhere else can be at school. Students are often placed on house arrest. During this time, they refer to themselves as being "on the box." It's because they literally have a little black box strapped to their ankle. It's interesting because some kids are so embarassed that they'll wear pants in 97 degree weather while others flaunt it and wear bring socks to draw attention to their box.

Last week, while we had a few minutes left at the end of class, I was chatting with a student who was "on the box." I heard a few students ask about his box (which he flaunted). He said he was on the box for aggravated robbery. Stupid me, I had to know what aggravated robbery was.

me: So, what makes aggravated robbery aggravated?
box kid: You have to have a weapon.
me: I see
box kid: (smiling) yeah I had a gun
me: realllly. Should I be afraid of you? (don't ask, it just flew out of my mouth)
box kid: no m'am, I wouldn't hurt you

Really, I mean really. How often is it that we are knowingly in the presence of someone who has committed a violent crime? To me, it seems strange that these kids are probably too dangerous to be wondering the streets of Smallville (my little school district) but the law requires that schools educated them. When you are on house arrest, you can go to school and that's it. Crazy.