This morning (the first hour is the wildest), Sergei was in the gym, screaming the N word, antagonising staff assigned to encourage him into his classroom, and posturing, pushing, and personally insulting people Calling staff fat, lots of N word, bitch, pussy, lots of posturing (boy, you’re 100 pounds, max, anyone could take you down, and eventually they did).

I was starting our day in our classroom, and trying to manage the aural atmosphere. If a kid is screaming obscene words outside the door, and throwing objects like shoes or basketballs at our door, and all my students are getting upset, trying to go out there to get into the crisis reenactment, I put on louder video or music.

This morning I opted for one of my students’ #FAVORITE #songs Shout… Shout… LET IT ALL OUT These are the things we can do without! Come on! I’m talking to you! Come on!

We all sang that song loudly which overcame the sound of the kid screaming and crying, after finally getting the restraint he’d been begging for since he woke up

In a restraint, 4-5 adults hold you down, and wait for you to calm down. If you don’t calm your body (stop struggling against the restraint), within 10 minutes, they/we release you. If you walk away, sit, or stand calmly, we start entering “talk about the feelings and incident” phase. Let’s walk and talk. Then back to class, if possible.

The 80’s #music culture we’ve cultivated has helped us- our classroom surf the noise of despair right outside out door, let’s go 1984, rise up.

I will add that if anyone inside the room is showing aggression, we encourage them to leave. It’s a desperate situation. If the communication stays open between adults and kids, people can learn.