Yesterday during class, one of my quiet Asian girls flipped out at her classmates. She tries so hard to concentrate during the lesson and she's surrounded by hooligans. She struggles to concentrate with so much chatter and tomfoolery around her. And then yesterday she snapped. Another student woke up during her tirade and said to the others, "I don't know what you did to make her snap, but I would stop it." When I told her 9th grade teacher about the episode he laughed but he seemed proud. "Good for her." he said, which is how I think most of the teachers and reasonable students felt too. When she was done, I only shook my head and told the class, "She's right."

Unfortunately most of the students laughed at her. Some of it might have been uncomfortable laughter. I hope most of it was because deep inside I want to believe that the majority of the students know that they have to do well in school (and in life). But I know that there was definitely mean-spirited laughter in that room. Kids can be so cruel. Of course, adults can be cruel too. And that's what worries me the most. I'm not sure how many "kids" were laughing. I think they could have been some young adults. And I worry that they just may be mean people who will not "grow out" of this.