the proper teacher

Take the boy, and pass him on

Take the boy and Pass him on

            I sat down at my desk in my office. It was my first day doing this job and I was nervous, I had recently been promoted from working with children under the age of 12 to deal with loss and family struggles, to dealing with Teenagers on probation. I picked up a file off my desk for my first patient of the day. His name was… Derrick Megray. I opened the file and saw that this 17-year-old had quite a record, he had been arrested twice for assault, spent the last 6 years of his life in and out of therapy for learning disabilities, rebellious and self-destructive behavior, and was defiant against authority. Previous therapists had noted that he was very defensive and if he felt he was under attack he would not hesitate to fight back. Verbally, logically, or physically. Great. My first patient was a violent offender on probation. Why did I take this job? I was not qualified to treat kids with this level of aggression. I was told not to care, or get attached to any of the clients, attachment could lead to mental health problems of my own. “Just listen to what he says” the principal had told me “get him to talk about himself, that will get him to like you and from there you can get him to open up and specify what help he needs” I was not sure what to do if he had a violent episode in my office, the best thing I could do was keep him calm.

            Suddenly a Caucasian boy wearing a baggy black hoodie and a Toronto Blue Jays skater hat came in and knocked on the door to the office

            “My name is Derrick, I’m here for my session” he said

            “Derrick Megray? I asked

            “Yes” said Derrick.

            “Welcome Derrick” I said as I got up and walked towards the door to shake Derrick’s hand

            Derrick walked into the room past my open hand and tossed his backpack down on the sofa but remained standing. In university they had taught me that during a tense moment some people would choose to stand as a way of proving that they had more power than the opposing party. Right away I could tell that this boy was not coming here because he thought he needed help.

            “You can sit if you want Derrick” I said

            “Thank you” Derrick said. But he remained standing

            “Okay” I said. I thanked the principal for bringing him to me, before I locked the door and walked behind the desk stationed at the head of the room “So Derrick I understand this is your first session here”

            Derrick just stood in the middle of the room with his hands in his pockets, but he looked into my eyes with a piercing look that just screamed “I don’t want to be here”.  I was constantly wondering what to do next. So I decided to break the ice.

            “Derrick, I know you don’t want to be here, but why don’t you try to tell me what is going on in your life?” I said