True Stories - A Child's First Day at Peabody

This is the first installment of "True Stories", a regular posting series which will be mostly comprised of anonymously told true stories about the Petersburg Public Schools.  Sometimes, like the one presented today, they will be told in the 1st Person.  This story is not mine, but at times, I will be sharing my own stories and hope others will contact me and do the same.   

People need to hear these stories.  

I think most of us didn't even share with our parents just how bad things were.

For the first story, I am glad to have the opportunity to share...

"A Child's First Day at Peabody"

I am sure most kids are excited to move on to Middle School.  I was scared to death.  I thought 5th grade was bad, but I had kind of found my comfort zone there...had my friends...and kind of knew everyone in my grade...but now, I am going to Peabody, to be mixed in with kids I don't know.  Peabody was well known for it's reputation, even among 5th graders.  Peabody Middle School is in a rough neighborhood.  We never even drive through that neighborhood...I mean, it was a scary place.  Boarded up structures on the property, huge fence (like a prison)...I had only seen it a few times, but it gave off the same feeling you get from a haunted house.

The bus ride in was about normal...with a few older faces I knew from the neighborhood.  I could tell right away, though, I was going to stick out like a sore thumb.  As the bus approached the school, I got this feeling, one not unlike the feeling you might get if a cop was pulling you over.  There were so many buses and the yard was just full of kids.  As the door opened, I certainly was not the first to jump up.  I swear I didn't make it 5 feet before I was spotted by a group much older kids.  A group of 4 boys began to circle me, bumping me around then kind of filed to my side.  "I got you, white boy" one said, while gesturing to his eyes, before making his way into the school.  I had not noticed, but an assistant principle was not far behind me, walking my way.  Lucky, I guess.  Well, little did I know that a week later the same kid would prove to me that luck runs out, but that is another story by itself.

The buses drop you out back, and most everyone funnels into this narrowing area between buildings.  On my walk into the school, I noticed how filthy the ground was...mashed trash all over, soiled pavement covered in some kind of grease or tar, the smell of garbage...really classy place for kids.  Trying to get into the building was much like trying to get into a packed night club.  I entered into a packed stairwell, I filed into the crowd, head down, hoping to just get to my class.  The place looked about as bad inside as it did outside.  Peabody has several halls, wings, stairwells...plenty of hiding places for mischief, and trust me, even on the first day, mischief was all about.  I noticed very few teachers dare police the hallways.  I made it to my first class.  This year, we would rotate classrooms...something that I was not crazy about.  Sure, the high-school kids on TV did it, and it looked like fun to them, but for me, it just meant more exposure to danger.  Clearly, this place was as bad as I imagined.  Just about every teacher I encountered looked embattled, even on the first day...rarely smiling and seemingly not enjoying a minute of teaching here.  I had one nice math teacher, who seemed dedicated to making a difference...and, of course, she was constantly abused by the "bad seeds" in the room and had little control of the classroom.

The classrooms seemed to be the safer places in the school, yet still, you knew what laid outside the doors of the class...a kids hell, if you will....then, it was lunch time.  The lunch room was it's own nightmare, with clicks and tables...none of which I was welcomed too.  At that time, they had to actually reserve an area for the 6th grades because so many were shunned from other tables.  This area was where I sat...an area regularly pelted with food.  Getting your lunch was a chore, taking up almost all of the time you had.  In a way, I was glad to just be able to wolf down my food and get out of there.  Then, I realized that I had to pee.

The bathrooms where about what I imagined...radiators full of urine, no stall doors or privacy, and and lots of trouble makers.  Just like earlier in the day, the minute I walked into the bathroom, I was targeted.  A much older kid decided that I would look better with spit in my hair.  I knew better than fight back...after all, I was a foot shorter, 3 or 4 years younger, and would rather be spit on then beat to a pump.  I didn't do anything to cause that...I just had to pee.  Where would I pee next time?  How can I pee safely here?  What if I have to shit?

When my last class ended, I rushed like crazy to my bus, but did not miss out on several stiff blows to the back of my head by passer-bys...as "stole-ing" a person in the back of the head was a "in thing", so it seems.  Compared to a few others I witnessed, as I peered out of my bus window, I was lucky to have just had to deal with that.

Here I am, what, 10 years old, seemingly fighting for survival in a hostel environment, in the ghetto, surrounded by a lot of hate...and this is where I am to learn the foundation of teachings that I will need for success in High School?  I am supposed to be able to concentrate and learn tougher subjects and be challenged in an environment I can not even feel safe in?  A place I can not even take a leak in safely?

To this day, the school remains much the same.  Go tour it for yourself!  That school is one of the reasons our City and our Public Schools are not improving.  Anyone who has attended that school, if being honest, would tell you it should be closed.  No one should have to send there kids there.