Sometimes, edginess is more of a mindset and less of my refusal to wear a sweater set. It can mean pushing the limits with new trends, but it can also mean getting a little too involved with your students. And no, I do not mean the Mary Kay LeTourneau kind of involved. I consider myself to be a compassionate person, I mean, why get into teaching if you don't actually care about the kids (you'd be surprised...). Besides caring about the kids, anyone who knows me knows that another passion of mine is animals (or are they one in the same?) Put the two together and I'm in big trouble.
The students learned pretty early on about my love for four legged creatures. On the first day, they were greeted with my bearded dragon, Julius Caesar, as well as a collection of photos of my other pets at home. When we read our first novel about starvation in Africa, I could not hide my tears when the protagonist had to say goodbye to his beloved pet, Khamba. For these reasons and more, a student, we'll call her T, approached me one November morning.
"Ms. Edgy, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course!" (boy trouble, too much homework, fighting with mom?)
"So, I know you like animals and everything, and I have a problem with a cat..."
"A cat??"
"Yeah. My neighbors had this cat and one day they decided to throw it out and now it always comes around my house crying and begging for food. My mom won't let me bring it inside and I don't know what to do. I really want to help him."
First of all, her neighbors "threw it out"? Is it a banana peel? Or is it a living, breathing, adorable creature? What is wrong with people? I'm not going to dive too deep into my feelings here, because I might never come back to the surface, but let's just said it took a lot for me not to knock on this neighbor's door and give her a piece of my mind.
My first thought was to call Animal Care and Control, but I was told they often euthanize animals due to overcrowding. It's heart breaking, but sometimes I wonder if that's a better option than succumbing to life in a tiny cage. Then, a lightbulb went off. I volunteered at a shelter in the summer and they were wonderful people. Better yet, they don't even have cages. Instead, the cats get free reign of the top floor of the shelter with city views, comfy beds and food galore. It's basically cat heaven. I contacted the owner who said she would be happy to make room for this poor kitty if we brought him in. Here comes the problem. How to trap a cat who roams the streets of one of Chicago's roughest neighborhoods (another reason why it would not have been a good idea to give that neighbor a piece of my mind).
I brought T my cat carrier and told her I would be willing to come help her out, but even she looked at me like I was insane.
"Ms. Edgy, no way! There are bad people in my neighborhood!"
Yet another bigger picture issue here: the fact that my own students have to live in the midst of horrible gang violence and crime, but I digress. T said she would try her best to lure the cat with treats and we'd go from there.
Anyone who knows anything about Chicago knows that besides it's horrible gang infestations, it's also unbearable come winter time, this particular winter especially and it pained me to think about that cat shivering on the streets. I was thrilled when T texted me, "I got him!" Now the problem became transport. T lived in basically another world from me, and relied on public transportation. I considered driving out to grab the cat, but was even warned against going to this area by a police officer friend. What to do...
Our only hope was for T to keep the cat overnight and bring it on the bus to school the next day where I could meet her. It was a risky plan because A.Her mom wouldn't let her bring the cat inside the house for the night and B. Could she really bring this cat on a 40 minute bus ride?
I thought we would have to abandon ship when T's aunt said the cat could remain overnight in her basement. This amazing young student even transported him all the way on the bus, amid a screaming cat and deathly stares from other passengers. Long story short, I met T at the bus stop and brought the cat to the shelter where it lived three happy months before its adoption.
Sometimes being edgy pays off.
The students learned pretty early on about my love for four legged creatures. On the first day, they were greeted with my bearded dragon, Julius Caesar, as well as a collection of photos of my other pets at home. When we read our first novel about starvation in Africa, I could not hide my tears when the protagonist had to say goodbye to his beloved pet, Khamba. For these reasons and more, a student, we'll call her T, approached me one November morning.
"Ms. Edgy, can I talk to you about something?"
"Of course!" (boy trouble, too much homework, fighting with mom?)
"So, I know you like animals and everything, and I have a problem with a cat..."
"A cat??"
"Yeah. My neighbors had this cat and one day they decided to throw it out and now it always comes around my house crying and begging for food. My mom won't let me bring it inside and I don't know what to do. I really want to help him."
First of all, her neighbors "threw it out"? Is it a banana peel? Or is it a living, breathing, adorable creature? What is wrong with people? I'm not going to dive too deep into my feelings here, because I might never come back to the surface, but let's just said it took a lot for me not to knock on this neighbor's door and give her a piece of my mind.
My first thought was to call Animal Care and Control, but I was told they often euthanize animals due to overcrowding. It's heart breaking, but sometimes I wonder if that's a better option than succumbing to life in a tiny cage. Then, a lightbulb went off. I volunteered at a shelter in the summer and they were wonderful people. Better yet, they don't even have cages. Instead, the cats get free reign of the top floor of the shelter with city views, comfy beds and food galore. It's basically cat heaven. I contacted the owner who said she would be happy to make room for this poor kitty if we brought him in. Here comes the problem. How to trap a cat who roams the streets of one of Chicago's roughest neighborhoods (another reason why it would not have been a good idea to give that neighbor a piece of my mind).
I brought T my cat carrier and told her I would be willing to come help her out, but even she looked at me like I was insane.
"Ms. Edgy, no way! There are bad people in my neighborhood!"
Yet another bigger picture issue here: the fact that my own students have to live in the midst of horrible gang violence and crime, but I digress. T said she would try her best to lure the cat with treats and we'd go from there.
Anyone who knows anything about Chicago knows that besides it's horrible gang infestations, it's also unbearable come winter time, this particular winter especially and it pained me to think about that cat shivering on the streets. I was thrilled when T texted me, "I got him!" Now the problem became transport. T lived in basically another world from me, and relied on public transportation. I considered driving out to grab the cat, but was even warned against going to this area by a police officer friend. What to do...
Our only hope was for T to keep the cat overnight and bring it on the bus to school the next day where I could meet her. It was a risky plan because A.Her mom wouldn't let her bring the cat inside the house for the night and B. Could she really bring this cat on a 40 minute bus ride?
I thought we would have to abandon ship when T's aunt said the cat could remain overnight in her basement. This amazing young student even transported him all the way on the bus, amid a screaming cat and deathly stares from other passengers. Long story short, I met T at the bus stop and brought the cat to the shelter where it lived three happy months before its adoption.
Sometimes being edgy pays off.
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