The Great Expectations School by Dan Brown Page A

I called Jess.
    I had only known Jess for nine days, but they were memorable ones. We had met while cavorting like fiends to Billy Idol's “Dancing with Myself “at a mutual friend's rooftop party in Brooklyn and had been more or less inseparable since. Meshing the stomach-tickling excitement of new romance with the annual end-of-summer dash for kicks, my feelings about Jess had quickly planted her very near to the center of my universe.
    During the school day I thought I radiated failure, but Jess told me it's impossible to juggle so many flaming bowling pins of responsibility at once. I psyched myself up that this was a battle that I had asked for, and one that I was going to win. Now I knew their faces.
    I decided two things. First, the kids would be disinclined to act out if there was a consistent reward system in place. This was something I had underestimated and thus had not implemented immediately on day one. Second, pleading with the collective for silence was exhausting and ineffective. I needed signals that could work efficiently and save my voice.
    I made a “TEAM EFFORT” poster and divided it into halves for stars and strikes. If I counted to three, my newly hatched silent signal, and the room was still noisy, strike city! If they achieved quiet, star stickers all around. When the class accrued forty more stars than strikes (circa Halloween, I planned), we would have a 4-217 party.
    I did not feel like smiling on my way downstairs for the second day.
    Outside the 4-217 door, I sternly announced our new system to the line, translating their blank, tired looks as understanding. In the middle of my speech, a secretary tapped me on the shoulder and handed me three orange paper strips from the office, meaning I should expect three new students to arrive in my room in the next sixty seconds. Jennifer Taylor, Joseph Castanon, and Evley Castro dutifullyappeared. Tall, mature-looking Jennifer shook my hand and said, “Nice to meet you, Mr. Brown.” Evley had a sensitive face and shyly stared at his sneakers when I shook his limp hand. Joseph had a bowl haircut and an empty look in his eyes.
    When chatter materialized during our bar graph lesson activity, I shook my head with slow intensity and boomed, “One…two…
I still hear talking
…
THREE
! That's a strike!” I felt like a jerk.
    The kids reacted with spasms of disappointment, as if their final lotto number had failed to come up. They called out names of the offenders with twangy irritation. “Ber-NARD!” “Cwa-SEY!” “De-LOR-is!”
    We had five strikes and one star when I realized I needed to doctor this whole operation. I started giving out spontaneous stars for strong individual efforts until we got the board even. Once the class received several stars, the kids started to like it.
    Teachers are supposed to keep anecdotal records of misbehavior for documentation's sake. Mine quickly piled up.
    SEPTEMBER 9
    10:00 during
Simon Says,
Fausto punched Hamisi and Hamisi cried but did not fight back. Fausto did not apologize.
    10:45 Lakiya will not stop talking no matter what! She makes mocking gibberish sounds when Deloris speaks.
    11:30 Destiny says Joseph and Fausto told her they were going to beat her up at recess.
    2:00 Unprovoked, Lakiya tells Tiffany, “I'm going to follow you home.” Tiffany is terrified.
    2:10 Randazzo tells the class “Mr. Brown is nice and you're taking advantage.” I don't like that he says that.
    SEPTEMBER 10
    10:20 Destiny hyperventilating and can't stop. I send her to get water.
    11:00 Had to scream at class. Lakiya completely rude and indignant. Laughing and yelling, “Preach!” Randazzo comes in, hearing the shouting, and lectures them. They're silent for him.
    LUNCH (I'm not there) Fausto chokes Eric till Eric throws up. Gets in big trouble with Mr. Daly. Daly calls home and Fausto sobs. He says he will get beaten.
    1:15 I have long conversation