In the Trenches...Tales from the Alternative School

My Grandparents
Principal George S. Pallo & Teacher Marie Pallo

As many of you know, my heart belongs to the "at risk" youth of the world (which aren't we all "at risk" of something?). I have always loved the underdog, as I admire their grit, gumption, and drive to survive. I can only assume that my passion comes from my late grandmother, Marie Pallo. I have heard countless stories of her "saving" kids and never giving up. Although I didn't have the opportunity to meet her, I feel that I am passing on her legacy, one child at a time.

I taught Alternative Education for eight glorious years in a rural school district, south of St. Louis. It honestly changed MY entire life. My students opened my eyes to a world that I never knew existed. They taught me acceptance, tolerance, patience, and many other street lessons that I needed to know. However, that came much later. First, I had to prove myself!!!

The FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL:

I remember being super excited for the first day of school, it was my first real job!!
I was a twenty something year old with ambitions out of this world. I was going to walk in and change lives, boy was I mistaken! I was way in over my head, to say the very least.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I looked like I had just stepped out of the pages of Vogue. I wore a tailored white shirt, pressed to perfection, a black puffy chiffon skirt, with strands of pearls and three inch heals that I could have run a marathon in. What I didn't realize, is that the school was located on the top of a bus garage, in the middle of nowhere and I quickly realized I was completely out of my league. The staff was cracking jokes about how many mice they had already killed and setting new traps. I HATE mice, they totally freak me out, so I was anxious and totally grossed out before I ever started! It smelled like stale cigarettes and diesel fuel, which I preferred over the thought of a mouse running across my shoe. What in the hell had I gotten myself into this time, kept running over and over in my mind. I was screwed to say the least.

When the first teacher greeted me, she said, " You won't wear that again, especially if you have to have it dry-cleaned. Who do you think you are, COCO Chanel?" Although I took that as a HUGE compliment, I knew that I was way in over my head, but it was too late to back out.

I took a deep breath, and walked into the common area where they all sat. They all looked like the kids out of Gangsta's paradise, but all white, with no diversity other than their clothing. They looked like they were going to eat me for breakfast, kill me, or just make my life a living hell, but as my dad always said, "God hates a coward!" and what they didn't realize, was that there was a new sheriff in town!


Until next time,

LMR