The alarm sounds

And the alarm is...

We got to bed at approximately 12:30 only to be awoken by a robotic male voice announcing that the alarm had been set off and that they were investigating.  What alarm?  What should we do. Only minutes later, the same robotic voice came back to tell us “The alarm is” and then cut itself off.  We never did learn what the alarm was about.

But it did get me thinking about the alarms that schools use when kids start going off the rails.  We visited a school where many of the kids come from violence.  Our tour guide told us that he has a car pick him up in the morning because the bus won’t enter his neighborhood.  A majority of the students reported either witnessing gun violence or being impacted by it.  Yet, they have 99% off their students pass the state exit exams for high schools and 88% go on to college.  The principal talked about the discussions they have had.  Do we pull the stragglers into the lifeboat or do we try and sAve the entire ship? How do we manage limited resources ( these kids had desks that still had slots for inkwells in them). It’s a struggle, but they manage to pay the teachers.  The principal actually teaches more than half the day and the kids have a council that resolves problems and discipline (did I mention they all stand when a teacher enters?). This school, despite its financial troubles, focuses on finding kids a safe place, an oasis in the chaos of their lives and fills it with order and love-  oh, and the fine arts.  Lots of fine arts.

After a delicious lunch at the Harbor House where we whale watched and watched sea otter, we headed for a fine arts school, where we were treated to some incredible performances and eventually became part of the music ourselves, learning to dance and drum with abandon.  It was almost miraculous.  These kids, who also struggled, found joy in the music of life.  The outside world was a million miles away.  It was just the beat and the bodies and a communal soul supporting everyone.

So, what do we do when the alarm sounds for kids?  Maybe a little less talking and a lot more dancing, singing and drawing.  With caring staff, it is working wonders for these kids.....