This term, I'm teaching in the usual place and also a school up in the Bronx. It's my first time teaching students in that area, but I've taught inner city and also in manhattan so I figured it would go about the same

but I'm noticing that the bronx group wrote mostly about death and murder

usually there's at least one "my dad died" narrative, but these students are just spilling over with tragedy

I'm over here like "this would be a stronger element if it came earlier in your essay" just sidestepping the fact that this person is trying very hard to write about a shooting without actually writing about it

conversational euphemisms cover up so much pain

I'm just sitting in front of the eighth essay that's basically "I was doing [normal teenager thing] and then I got a call about the death of a loved one" and it's a dark grading session

I was prepared to read a bunch of covid stories, but they all have bigger things in mind

Oof. Yeah, I would have been expecting a bunch of covid stuff too

That's heavy

they also don't really want to explain the causes of death. It'll either be "murder" or just poof

the same with stories about imprisoned family

they care that their parents weren't home. it doesn't matter to them what their parents did or didn't do

jeez these poor kids

it's rly depressing

yeah just a little hitting close to home too, with some of the stuff that's gone on in my family...lol

oh shit I should put warnings in th toplevel shouldn't i

I'm sorry, guys

OH WHAT NO IT'S FINE

tho i guess other people may not be as blase as i am about it all lmao

it's kind of fraught :/

god... that's terrible.