Hi Thomas,
I taught you when you were in summer school and trying to get your English II credit, and you were one of my best students who just needed to show up to class more. I appreciated you wishing me the best of luck for the school year, and I was glad to do the same for you.
I doubted I would ever see a lot of my students again, but I remember being on one of the most popular intersections of the city, and seeing a kid I recognized. Your friend came up to my car, and I asked him “is that Thomas?” and he responded in the affirmative. I called your name, and then you turned your back and ran away — you didn’t want me to see you, and in class the next day, you’d ask me not to tell anyone because it was your first day.
Anyways, I’ve seen you several more times, and I’ve always given and appreciated whenever you came up to my car and we could have a chat. I’m glad that you’re doing well in school and that you’re really working hard out here squeegeeing — and I respect the hustle because I’ve seen you out here six times or more since last summer.
But I can imagine how hard it must be. I’ve seen drivers curse kids like you out when trying to clean their windows. I’ve seen drivers run red lights so they wouldn’t have to interact with squeegee kids, and I’ve seen drivers ignore you like most people do homeless people they don’t want to see as humans beings when they pass them by.
You, however, don’t let it get to you. No matter what one driver might do, you shake it off and move onto the next one. Each time I see you out here, you inspire me because you work harder than I do on most days, no matter the conditions of heat or cold, rain or burning sun.
The Internet is an awful place — people call squeegee kids “thugs” and “terrorizers”. Waze has even put alerts for squeegee kids on its app. I know most of these people would never say these things to your face.
And yet I wonder if I’m part of the problem. I give cash every time I see you because you’re my student, and I want to support you unconditionally. But I wonder if I’m doing you a disservice, because, in most jobs in the world, money does not come in a fast, direct fashion like that — and people have criticized me for perpetuating an inequality where I encourage you to wash windows on the street.
But it’s called giving for a reason — I can decide what I want to do with my money, and I decide that whenever I see you working hard and hustling.
I don’t see you as a “thug”, “terrorizer” or an alert on Waze not only because it’s wrong, but because you’re my kid. You’re my student and I will always see you as my student. People talk all the time about their bad experiences with squeegee kids like yourself, but I’ve had nothing but respectful, polite, and kind interactions. I wish those people took to heart that as long as you treat people like human beings instead of Waze alerts, they will usually return that respect. Another Baltimore City teacher, Lena Tashjian, puts my perspective on how I see my students perfectly, with a lot of similar experiences:
My kids are survivors. Children who grow up in and around violence experience trauma at a young age, and that trauma often goes unchecked. I’ve taught kids who have watched their friends die, kids who have survived drive-by shootings, kids who have been homeless and who haven’t known where to lay their head or where to get their next meal.
Thomas, I wish I asked you more about your life and what you’ve gone through in your life. But my kids during the school year have gone through homelessness, have had their parents pass far too early, and have survived shootings. I thought I was going to teach them, but they ended up teaching me — no matter what was going on at home, they always still showed up to school, ready to learn every single day. They are survivors.
I wish, Thomas, that people got to know you before they judged you, that knew that you’re a thoughtful writer and a kid that always volunteered to read out loud in front of the class.
Regular people like myself and the rest of the City need to do better by you. Thank you for everything you’ve taught me and given to me.
*Names changed to preserve confidentiality
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Previously published on “Equality Includes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Ryan Graybill on Unsplash