Donate to help Bobby afford his books You people never cease to amaze me. Seriously. And I mean that in the best possible sense. I did write that post earlier this morning in hopes that people would ask me to put the donation button up, honestly, but will do as requested. Any little bit helps. (All proceeds will go directly to the purchase of Bobby's books and supplies for his summer session, and any excess will go towards the $600 computer/printer being delivered.)
Most longtime followers of this blog are familiar with the story of Bobby, who I have been chonicling for several years now. I'm currently working on a long post, possibly even a book about him, and our relationship, how he taught me to be a better teacher and a better person, but here's the Reader's Digest version:
1. He first sat in my room as an 8th grader, as a shadow for one of my then-current 10th graders. Giggly kid, not much else.
2. He was sort of an impish little brat during summer bridge that summer, and I specifically remembered his name so that I could rejoice when I didn't have him. He told me his name was Mike and got all the kids laughing every time I called him that until I figured it out.
3. I had him on my class list, and he ended up being one of the most memorable students ever. Funny, a little sad, smart, enigmatic, troubled, polite - all those adjectives and much more. He was also an excellent reader and a good writer, so I wrote a letter in support of him not to be reassigned to another school after his 9th grade girl despite middling grades.
4. He never knew his father, who died in prison. His mother died when he was 8 after years of abusing drugs and alcohol. His grandmother, who cared for him, died of natural causes when he was 11. He eventually was placed in the care of his great aunt, who has a host of problems herself. I learned all this on an Outward Bound trip with him, the first of three we took together.
5. When he was a sophomore, his older brother was shot and killed, a victim of the Baltimore drug trade wars. He died in Bobby's arms on the street. This was certainly one of the turning point of this kid's life, something that I think informs every decision he's made since then. The brother's dying words to him were about staying in school.
6. After he died, the great aunt didn't leave the house for weeks, struck with grief. The lights got turned off. The heat got turned off. Bobby told me he had to do some things that he wasn't proud of to get the lights turned back on. I remember shopping for a Christmas present for his aunt with him, because he felt like it would make her happy. Eventually, the bad stuff caught up with him when he was arrested as a sophomore. He's never told me about it with much specifics, but court dates and parole officers and the shoddy Baltimore justice system all played a part.
7. After that experience as a 10th grader, he straightened up. I kept telling him things would get better. I promised him. But he kept coming into school looking like he had the weight of everything on his shoulders. I didn't know what to do, but made him go on another Outward Bound trip with me that year. There, he confided that he can't shut his eyes without seeing his older brother dying in his arms. He couldn't do it anymore, he said.
8. He somehow got through it, and made the Honor Roll his 11th and 12th grade years, and eventually got a scholarship designed for kids who have overcome great barriers but who have the skills for college. He was the wrestling captain. He starred in a production of
As You Like It. He started a marching band for ex-drug dealers in his neighborhood. It wasn't enough for his addict aunt, who he continued to have conflicts with until she kicked him out a couple of months ago. That's why he's been living with me. Here's he's been nothing but the kind, intelligent, great kid that he is.
9. He'll be going to the University of Maryland this fall, and has to maintain a 3.5 to keep his scholarship. He leaves Saturday, and doesn't have any money for supplies or books to get him through the summer session - which the scholarship is dependent upon.
Donate to help Bobby afford his books Bonus: An actual Letter of Recommendation that I wrote for "Bobby"... (Note: Bobby is not the kid's real name, that's why I always put it in quotes.)
November 25, 2005
To whom it may concern:
I am proud to recommend a beloved student, "Bobby", to your learning institution. "Bobby" is the most memorable student to cross my path during the five years I have been teaching English at (ahem), and I am confident that his intelligence, potential, and skills will greatly benefit your institution should he be accepted.
I have known "Bobby" for four years, teaching him in two courses (English I and English III) and participating with him on three Outward Bound Peer Leadership Courses. Through this time, I have had the pleasure of getting to know this young man as both a student and a person. I have learned about his considerable talents not only as a reader and writer, but also as a thinker and leader. The term “old soul” is thrown around often, but "Bobby" is the one who most typifies the label for me. His perceptiveness and intelligence never dim, even in the face of a city and world that swirls around him in turmoil and sometimes pain. Instead, these traits grow stronger with each passing year.
As a ninth grader, "Bobby" was an enigmatic young man with flashes of hard work and intellect mixed with too much inconsistency. Still, I remember his work with To Kill a Mockingbird - he created a soundtrack for the novel that perfectly captured Lee’s coming-of-age themes about innocence and the recognition of injustice, showing more understanding of the novel than any other ninth grader. It was these flashes of brilliance that allowed him to pass the course, even if he was erratic student otherwise during that ninth grade year.
I got to know him even better during the first of several Outward Bound Peer Leadership courses I traveled with him on. During this trip, I found him to be a special kid – one who had the charisma and intelligence to take on a leadership role just as well as seniors on the trip, but also one whose 9th grade rawness was more pronounced than most of his peers.
Since that ninth grade year, after which he was nearly re-assigned to a less rigorous high school, I have gotten to know him more and more. During his tenth grade year, I kept close tabs on his success in different classes, and was proud when he did well for the demanding English teacher (the toughest teacher in the department) he had in the tenth grade. Later, he again was chosen for the Outward Bound Peer Leadership course, and I vividly remember a night in which it was raining and everyone wanted to turn back. "Bobby" took the reins of the group at that point, leading his peers with compassion for their aches and pains but also knowledge of the trail and the map. It was a cold, hellish night, but we made it to the campsite, and "Bobby"’s diligence to the task and empathy for his fellow hikers were the major reasons why we were successful. As the teacher advisor on the group, it is my job to step back and let the students handle situations on their own, and it was clear that if "Bobby" were not there that night, I would have had to step in and get everyone in line. I was very thankful a leader like "Bobby" was on the trip.
After this occurred, "Bobby" was assigned to my class for 11th grade English. When I first learned he was going to be in my class, I wanted to switch him out of it, worried that "Bobby" had learned all he could from me as a teacher. However, I was glad that he stayed, because he produced the best work I had out of any student last year. The inconsistency as a student I had witnessed during his ninth grade year had dimmed, and he worked hard on essays, writing me pieces that showed a quality of thought that was a refreshing change from the usual regurgitation of ideas from classroom discussions that I was used to getting from that group. Whenever "Bobby" could choose his own essay topic, he would. I vividly remember an essay he worked on for an entire weekend – I know this because he e-mailed me throughout it – that outlined Banquo’s character as a mirror of Macbeth’s in Shakespeare’s tragedy. The essay was college-level and flawless; his insight and analysis was thorough and comprehensive, showing much original thought. When "Bobby" later played Macbeth during Banquo’s ghost scene in a class activity, I could see his wheels turning, extrapolating his theory that Banquo was killed by Macbeth because he was a man that Macbeth couldn’t be, into a wild-eyed performance as the title character. "Bobby" scored the highest grade out of any junior during that challenging Macbeth unit, which was the students’ first exposure to Shakespeare. This knowledge of Shakespeare has grown this year, as he starred in a full production of
As You Like It in Shakespeare Productions - and was really good!
Hidden underneath "Bobby"’s amiability and fun-loving nature is a profound depth and strength of character. During the summer after his sophomore year, "Bobby"’s older brother was murdered on the streets of Baltimore, dying in "Bobby"’s arms. While he does not talk about it often, I believe this moment to be a turning point in "Bobby"’s life, one that informs every decision and goal he makes for himself. His strength of disposition displayed in his grieving, in the way he’s taken care of his family (he’s never known his father, and his mother died when he was very young, so he lives with an older sister and great aunt), and in the way he’s rebounded academically and socially have shown me he is one of the strongest people I know. His potential as a leader and thinker knows no boundaries.
What makes "Bobby" a student with such extraordinary potential isn’t just the way he steps back from a situation and approaches it again with unique insight. It isn’t just that he produces great work. It’s that he does it all with a genuine intellectual curiosity rare in a high school student. Never before have I had a student who seems as interested and intrigued as "Bobby" does in the things he tackles. This, coupled with a moral strength of character that is stronger than most adults three times his age, demonstrates his potential to lead and affect great things beyond the narrow confines of Baltimore. I strongly recommend "Bobby", who is quite simply the most remarkable student I have ever met. Please contact me at (phone) or (e-mail) if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
"Epiphany in Baltimore"
