Gang Slang??? About This Page:

[pflamingo]

Okay, those of you who've seen my recent threads in the Family Room know I'm working in "Gang Central" elementary school (at least, for another 2 weeks, then I'm history).

One of the "poor misunderstood children" (aka, 5th grade gang member who's much bigger than me) said the following to me today, when I threatened him with a detention (oh, wow, I'm sure he was scared, but it's all I've got to work with):

"three fingers back at you"

Does anyone know what this means? If it's obscene, PM or e-mail me with the info. If it refers to some form of violence, I'd like to know, b/c I can sic the cops on him for threatening me. If it's just stupid, I'd like to know so I don't have to worry about it for the next 2 weeks.

He said it meant I was going to have "bad luck", which I scoffed at, since I don't believe in "bad luck", but in the back of my mind I was thinking, "what, are you and your buddies going to create some 'bad luck' for me?"

Bet you can't guess why I've resigned from this "teaching" position.

[DisneyMomma]

Egads, Pat! I could be wrong, but if you make your hand like a pretend gun there are three fingers pointing back at you. I think he was wanting to sound tough and threatening.

These are elementary school kids??? [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] This makes me sad and angry all at the same time. All I can think of is what kind of life these kids have endured from infancy until now to become so hateful. What a world.

Hope the two weeks passes quickly and you can get out of there!

[ariel1]

wow, pat! i rarely make it over to the family room, so i had no idea what you're going through. so sorry to hear about your job. i have no idea what that kid was trying to say (or not say), but i just wanted to let you know i'll be praying your next 2 weeks go by quickly and without event.

[Dumbo]

Pat,

I have no idea what the words mean. I to hope the days pass quickly for you.

I'm not shocked that elementary children are this violent. They have no supervison, parents that don't care and violent video games, few real role models, teenage parents etc. To top it off the teachers aren't allowed to punish the way they should. A trip to the principal to see the paddle comes to mind. Until control is restored to the schools and the parents the violence will continue and get worse. Ok. Off my soapbox now.

[BostonTeaParty]

I've been following your story too Pat. The only thing I can think of is I've seen people hold up three fingers and say "read between the lines", effectively giving you "the finger" without holding up just one finger. That's just my guess. [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

[coffeechef]

HI Pat ... You need to get out of their now. IS there any reason for you to have to stay other than the " 2 weeks " notice thing?

The 3 finger thing as I know it means " when you point the finger at someone , there are three fingers pointing back at you" Not meaning a gun,(though in this case , it could be true) but when you finger point ,three of your fingers are pointing back at you as in being 3x as guilty as the person you are pointing your finger at.
I hope that this it all it means & does not mean a gun.

These Kids (used loosely)obviously have no respect for anyone. How sad & yet SCARY that this is what some areas of our COuntry have become.
How do we change that?
My nephews are in the 5th grade, I would hate to think that they would ever have to attend a school like that. What happens to the good kids, are there any at that school?
Good Luck & though I don't usually advocate calling out sick , I would seriously think about it.

[pflamingo]

Originally posted by NancyW:
The only thing I can think of is I've seen people hold up three fingers and say "read between the lines", effectively giving you "the finger"

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Someone else suggested this, too, and it was my first thought when he said it.

It was weird, b/c when I told him I didn't believe in "bad luck" he looked sort of surprised and said, "You don't believe in God?"

Now, I immediately thought two things: A) This is public school, this kid is a shmuck, and I'm not getting into a discussion of my theological beliefs with him; [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img] and B) Huh? Bad luck -- God -- what have they got to do with each other? [img]images/icons/confused.gif[/img]

Apparently, thought B also occured to a couple of the other kids in the class, b/c they said pretty much what I was thinking.

I soooo want the next 2 weeks to be over with. Sad thing is, I have 2 math classes that I finally have under control, and I'm actually able to teach them something. It's the 3 horrible classes, the complete lack of respect from those kids, and the administration's apparent lack of concern for teachers' safety and well-being that make the job impossible. [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]

[pflamingo]

Originally posted by coffeechef:
IS there any reason for you to have to stay other than the " 2 weeks " notice thing?

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">As I understand it, they could cause some problems with my certification if I bail in less than 2 weeks.

when you finger point ,three of your fingers are pointing back at you as in being 3x as guilty as the person you are pointing your finger at.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">That could be, given the religious reference I mentioned above.

I wish I could call in sick, but I only have a couple of sick days accrued, it would be my responsibility to find a substitute, and no one wants to sub at this school.

Dennis thinks he should drive me to school and pick me up every day for the next two weeks. That would be okay, I guess, but we have faculty meetings that go on and on b/c the principal is "temporally challenged" (aka, can't tell time) and I never know when we'll finish. [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

BTW, there are some good kids there. Unfortunately, they get threatened by the bad ones. Once I'm out of this, I'm thinking of contacting a couple of parents to suggest that they look into sending these kids to the private school I taught at for the last 4 years (and am regretting leaving, now). It's mission is to serve poor families, and they have scholarships for good kids whose families can't afford to pay. I think these kids would thrive in that environment.

[ 09-20-2003, 10:17 AM: Message edited by: pflamingo ]

[mrsmaup]

oh pat, I have been following your story, and I still pray for your safety daily!!

PLEASE take Dennis up on his suggestion of driving you to and fro. How do you know these "elementary" kids would not know how to mess w/your car?

I cant even imagine this actually going on, but we all know that even 10 year olds can be murderers.

If this child really believes in God, then you should ask him how he thinks GOD views his attitude; the bible clearly states our responsibility to respect our elders........

When my kids act like weenies, I calmly say "hmmm, wonder what GOD would think of this if he was sitting next to you now??" Shuts them RIghT up. They may feel they can mess w/momma, but they dont want to mess w/God!LOL!!

I feel the most heartbroken for the good kids you have repeaditly talked about. They have no means of escape!!!

That book I mentioned before called "on the schoolbus and through the gates of Hell" was all about the Hell that teachers, but especially good students go through in gang ridden schools and how they are not able to learn anything at all; how they spend the entire day just trying to not get beaten up or killed!

Im glad you are leaving Pat. Maybe this will wake up the administrators in your school and hopefully have them find a way to be more effective in protecting and backing up the teachers and the good students!!

[Bert & Sully]

Pat sounds like you could use a big dose of PIXIE DUST from your home state. - See it creepin' over the state line? [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[elbug10]

Good luck to you Pat, and pixie dust for good measure! I would have your husband drive you to school, also. Do you have to attend the faculty meetings, seeing as you're leaving anyway? My thought about the hand gesture was he was giving you the finger x3, but who knows? Maybe he associates God with bad luck because bad things have happened to members of his family? The saying is "God doesn't give you something you can't handle", so maybe he associates God with sorrow, rather than happiness. Please let us know how things are going. We're all thinking about you!

[ilovedonald]

Pat,

Lots of Pixie Dust to you. I taught in a school where I had 4th graders getting pregnant and being violent. It's so sad. I was so miserable that I finally decided it was better for me and my family to quit even though I did have some good kids like you did. Check with your teacher's union and see what they say about your situation. They may be able to help you if you have problems with keeping your certification. Let us know what happens and know that you are not alone. [img]graemlins/usa.gif[/img]