An Unreachable Girl Shows Up
Chapter 9
An Unreachable Girl Shows Up When children have been labeled “unreachable” by their teachers, they can come in one of two varieties. If their spirit has been broken, they are apathetic and the hardest to reach. But if they’re angry and rebellious, it just means their spirit is still intact. Many times, they are highly creative and of above-average intelligence. These are the easiest to reach, and are the gold waiting to be discovered.
She was brought into my classroom by the principal and two juvenile officers; a little waif of a child, probably not five feet tall and less than 75 pounds soaking wet. Why it took two of them, I didn’t know, but I would find out soon enough. I already had more problem children in my classroom than I really knew what to do with, but there seemed to be a never-ending supply of such kids at this school, each with more problems than the last. But when Wesley explained to me that this was her last chance, that if I couldn’t make room for her she was going straight to MacLaren, what could I say? MacLaren was not a good place for such a little girl. MacLaren was part of Oregon’s correctional system, a long-term housing facility for incorrigible juvenile girls the system had given up on. As Oregon’s final answer to female juvenile delinquents, I knew in 29