Drug Dealer on Campus?

Well just when I thought I had heard it all.

This new student came to my class in January. A good student, on the ball, getting ahead by doing extra work. The kind of student we all wish filled our desks. He did pretty well for a couple months. Then last week he started slacking off, or perhaps I just began to notice it. For example, on Monday last he was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed. I asked him what was wrong and he gave me a story about the horses breaking through the fence last night and having to round them up and rebuild fences until five in the morning. I asked him if he didn't think that maybe this wouldn't have been a good day to stay home and get some sleep. No, I'm alright, he said.

During the week I noticed more of the same. So I called him over and began to discuss his work ethic with him. He informed me that he was going to go into his family business and he didn't need any schooling. In fact, he went on, he was going to drop out of high school just as soon as he reached the age when he could do so.

Whoa! I continued the conversation with him and he was just determined that his was the right course of action. So I sent the details to the counselor (they're the official kow-towers of the school) and she sent me a courteous "Thank you." I should have known they don't want work.

On Friday of last week the Vice Principal was going by during that period and I was talking to this very student out of the class. I had the student return to the class so I could talk with the VP who asked me to come by his office after school so he could discuss the student with me.

When we were alone in his office he confided to me that this kid was known to be dealing "ecstacy" at the weekly dances at the skate rink. That's right...KNOWN to be a drug dealer by the police. However, the police want to nab the supplier, so they are keeping this kid on ice until they get the big fish.

That's right. A known drug dealer is walking the campus making connections and future deals.

I fretted about this all weekend. I talked it over with my wife. I thought to myself, "What if my children were going to this school? They could conceivably come into contact with this pig either through a class contact or through a friend, and then I might have to deal with my children wondering or even experimenting with drugs."

I returned to the Vice Principal's office today after school and told him that I felt a mix of pity and hatred for this kid when I saw him today in class. Hatred for what he is doing to who knows how many kids on the campus. I told the VP that my own children could be going to this school with a known drug dealer and I just didn't understand how he could still be there. We were interrupted again and again by other teachers with "burning" issues so we couldn't keep our conversation going.

But tomorrow I'm going to meet with both the VP and the Principal to talk about this.

Also, this evening I talked with my father who is a retired Deputy Sheriff. He was a detective, a coroner, and he ran the county jail as a Division Chief, so I figured he'd have some good advice for me. He told me that by the time they take this kid down there will be five more to take his place. So much for getting the big fish.