GUTTER BALLS & STRIKES

Monday I had to answer six questions from a prisoner grievance regarding abuse of power and assault. The deputy warden of programs advised me to have my union representative present. Here we go again. The allegations are totally false. I answered each question with an abrupt “NO.” The deputy warden wrote my answers on the questionnaire and circled two of the “No’s.” I really can’t say much more pending the outcome of the investigation. I will say this: The prisoner does not want to attend school, and he is requesting my immediate termination from the department. I hate prisoner grievances. A majority of them are without merit. They certainly have more rights than the juveniles I taught from the Department of Social Services (now known as The Family Independence Agency).

I remember a time when I took a bunch of delinquent youths to East Warren Lanes near Detroit’s Finney High School for a staff-versus-kids bowling tournament. On the way there, a kid named Timmy started cussing at staff and tried picking a fight with one of his peers. The other state employees, known as youth specialists, informed me that I could cancel the field trip and we could head back to the facility, or one of them could sit in the van with the troublemaker while the rest of us bowled. I chose the latter.

The whole purpose behind our field trip was to foster teamwork and to have the kids keep their own scores. Even though it was simple math, some of them had difficulty with the scoring procedures. Into our second game, I noticed an additional staff member bowling. I asked him about the youth in the van and he told me not to worry.

I won’t bore you with what ensued. Let’s just say the director of our facility had a thorough investigation regarding some fairly serious allegations. She asked the same question to each staff member and “child” involved: “Is it true that Timmy was handcuffed to the van while everyone went inside to bowl?”

The director received the same answer from everyone involved, staff and kids, “No.”

Later on, darling little Timmy confronted me. He said, “Teachers shouldn’t lie.”

I looked him straight in the eye and said, “Timmy, I just did you a big favor. I just saved you from getting your ass kicked. What do you think would’ve happened if these allegations you made were actually true? Did you ever think about that? Huh?—No more field trips. Then what?”

He just smiled.