Book Clubs & Bomb Threats - A Very Special Jesse Post

Wednesdays for me mean I have to get into work early to get set up for Comic Book Club. I am so excited to have started this club. My core group of young men and women is about 12 strong. We usually talk about any news the kids want to share and watch trailers and clips about new books and movies coming out. Recently, we've been learning how to play and beginning to play an RPG called Icons. This is one of my favorite parts of the week, because the kids are really passionate about comics and I've been able to get a group of kids involved in extracurricular activities that normally wouldn't have a chance to do so.

My cooperating teacher from my student teaching days at Appalachian told me to always be rigidly flexible as a teacher, and I've always tried to stick by that. Today was a day where more flexibility than rigidity was required. During my morning bathroom break after my kids left for their encore classes, I noticed some writing on the wall. Generally, this is from a boy who is trying to rebel by scrawling the f-word on the wall. However, today, there was a threat directed at the school.

On top of all this, we just had a teacher resign with short notice yesterday (side note: usually, teachers are held to their positions for thirty days to try to guarantee a replacement can be found, but this teacher was released from his contract that day). I hated to have to bring this threat to my principal's attention since she is dealing with just starting at our school, plus having to deal with a teacher resigning with short notice, but these things have to be taken seriously.

As a result, later in the day, all of our students were forced to evacuate the building. Upon hearing that it would be at least an hour before Cabarrus county deputies and Charlotte-Mecklenbug police could sweep through the school to make sure everything was safe for us to return, we all walked the half mile to our neighboring high school. For about an hour, our entire student body sat in the bleachers at the high school. Of course, they all wanted to know what was going on and when we were going back, so it was a bit of a headache to keep everybody chilled out for that time period.

Upon return to the middle school, we resumed a semi-normal schedule with abbreviated class periods until dismissal. Parents will be informed this afternoon what happened and no one was harmed, thankfully. Even though the kids were whiny and confused, they did a great job getting out quickly and quietly. It's times like these when I'm remind of the words of the Immortal Bard, Calvin Broadus, who once said, "If the ride is more fly, then you must buy."