Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Too Dangerous for Soccer

Yesterday I took my kids over to nearby school for a soccer game. The kids were really excited to play against another team and had been talking strategy all week. A lot of the younger kids came to watch, and it was a great atmosphere. But after about 5 minutes we had to stop the game because of a potential gang fight in the park. Apparently some high school kids had gotten into it just before we got to the field and had gone to get a gun. The kids handled it really well and didn't complain at all. In fact, only a couple remarked about how awful it was that gangs would bring a gun to a playground with little kids (there was also a tennis program in the park). It was a sad day, and it reminded me again about how much these kids have to deal with on a daily basis.

2 comments:

Lady Strathconn said...

Your strength to stay in the city and support these children is impressive to rural me. My school has around 200 kids, 2 ELLs (dads are Mexican farmer workers at a local dairy farm), and 6 non-whites in the whole bunch. We have no race issues, no gang wars, nearly no violence.

You are brave, strong, and inspiring.

Andrew Pass said...

Thank you for this post. It really reminds me to stop and be thankful for everything that I have. Wouldn't it be wonderful if nobody ever had to experience what you or your students experienced the other day.

Andy Pass
http://www.Pass-Ed.com/blogger.html