In a true undercover role, the law enforcement officer divorces himself from his true persona. He doesn't carry any police credentials, and carries a gun only when the role he is playing calls for it.
- Tim Dees, Retired Police Officer The kid showed up unannounced with his baseball hat on, a green army jacket, and unlaced work boots. His long red hair was a mess and his eyes were squinty. Oh well, nothing like adding a new student on a Monday morning with no prior notice. The high school had a no hat rule. After introducing myself, having him find a seat, I told him to take his hat off. He did without any attitude. However, about 30 seconds later, it was back on. Okay, I guess we are going to play this game. And we did. Eventually, I took it from him and put it on the front table. What fun.
My class was a class for students with behavior and/or academic challenges. Sometimes, the students had the combo plate. I always hate labels. Who isn’t a behavior issue when bored for hours? Who isn’t academically challenged if given work way above his ability? The other side of this is I also get equally annoyed when kids don’t try or give up. Learning ain’t easy. It isn’t fun and games. It is about taking risks to get better at something. Blah, blah, blah.
The new students name was Sean. He came across detached but trying to play cool. He made a few friends in class and his antics kept them entertained. The kid used to irritate my teacher aide to no end. I constantly had to referee and call Sean on his rudeness. Besides Irritate the Aide, he played a lot of other games; The Show Up to Class Late Game – why be on time when you can be fashionable late and disrupt everyone with a grand entrance. The Never Turn Your Work In Game –time can pass but I’m not. Of course, The Hat Game. On, off, on, off. Yea, I could have kicked him out every day. Booting people is easy. Getting them to work and learn is hard. It usually took about five minutes to get Sean to do something.
Sean did get in trouble now and again. The teachers'aide sent him to the office a few times. He also got sent there from his other class. He never really got disciplined by the adminstration. - a detention or two. I figured he talked himself out of trouble like some kids do.
With attendance, he routinely played the disappearing game. He would be here for a few days. Then, “poof” gone for a week. I tried talking to him in the hallway about coming and trying harder in school. He would agree. For a while, he would try, then it would be the same old song and dance. I kept at it. After a few months of this, he was gone one day and never returned.
The following summer . . . We had our back-to-school workshop days before the students came back.
My principal laughed and said, “Well, do you pay attention Mr. McNabb.” The principal and I were friends. "We had an undercover monitoring things last year."
Strangely, I knew who it was in two seconds. “Sean!”
No one else knew what I was talking about except the principal and and the assistant principal. My principal continued, “Well, at least the officer said he wished he had had you as a teacher. He said you kept trying to get him to behave." Everyone laughed. I laughed too and again realized I don’t know everything. The officer was good. He fooled me and made me believe. I bought into his sham.
In the end, the undercover busted a few dealers related to the situation. No one told me about this in teacher education.
REMIX
It isn’t too often that you can throw a police officer out of a room and he has to go. Baseball hat – rapper style – red hair and freckles. I found out when I returned for the summer that an undercover cop had been in my class. He actually on occasion wrote journals, wrote poetry, and acted plays in class. He never touched his homework.
I already described the hat game in the previous blog. “Take it off.” He does then puts it on. “Take it off.” Comes off. Back on. “Take it off.” Comes off. He puts it on. Comes off. Back on. Ad nauseam
Like I said before, he never listen to my teacher aide. God, he pissed her off. The simplest task ignored. Pick up the paper. No. Stop kicking the chair. No. Stop interrupting. No. One of us would toss him, and he would soon return after a tune-up by the assistant principal. A jerk show here, a jerk show there. Eventually, he made the cool team. He found the dealers and saved the day. Boy, he was a jerk at times. Oh well, I look at my class roster a little more carefully. I am done with this story.