The Coach, the A-student, and the Incident

Authority figures are supposed to be trustworthy, especially educators. Many times, they use their position of power to intimidate students until the mask slips & their predatory behavior is exposed.

I’ve recently seen a bit of an uptick in followers, so first and foremost- welcome! Thank you for your interest in my Substack. I have had quite a bit going on in the background recently, hence not being able to post any content here. As I sit with my rapidly cooling coffee, and before the day is in full swing I thought I’d try to drop a little something here. Please be sure to like the post and leave a comment if you enjoy what you’ve read!

It was a day much like any other. I was sitting in my 7th-period English Honors class looking over a completed worksheet while the other students worked diligently on whatever the assignment was for the day. I had a 101 in the class at the time, which I didn’t even know was a possibility until I saw it printed on the most recent report card. This was the same year I’d won a statewide essay and been honored locally in the paper having received an award, savings bond, and recognition at a ceremony attended by the Board of Education, mayor, governor of the state, and other respected individuals in the community.

Because of this accomplishment for the school system, my last class of the day was one of leisure and boredom. I was allowed to do “busy work” while the rest of the class actually did whatever the daily assignment was. Many times teachers would come by and ask for me to be pulled out to work on assignments or homework for their students. I would walk up to the library and sit and one of the computer desks with whatever the task was from the teacher that day. Sometimes it would be a test I would be typing out. Other times it was homework, study guides, permission slips, and letters to parents. All kinds of things.

I was chosen for this kind of clerical work for the staff for two reasons. #1: I was a fast typist and could get whatever the document was turned around to the teacher far before the last bell would ring. And #2: because I had such a high score in the English class, I wasn’t doing the work of the rest of the class and often reading a book or doing whatever it took to stay busy while the hands on the clock took their time getting to the top of the hour. Rather than have me sit doing nothing, my skills were being put to work. I didn’t mind. It made the time go by much faster.

On this particular day, I was sitting at my desk and once again a teacher came by to “borrow” Haley. My English teacher met the other teacher at the door to discuss particulars surrounding what was needed. She called me up to the front where I was asked to help type out a basketball roster for the head coach at the time. I obliged, grabbed my things since I wouldn’t be returning to class, and walked into the hallway where my task was explained to me.

This post and many others on Kennington Report are personal stories that are very difficult to read and write. Please consider subscribing to read the entire article and support my work.