At Garfield Terrace, Mr. Ira Brown is the one who keeps things running smoothly. He makes sure that all the students sign in, he keeps them in line, makes sure the computer room stays clean (his rule – absolutely no food or drinks in that room). When I met him one day, he saw twins Myana and Tyana come in (the first kids to come into the center that afternoon). He said, “When I left here last night, the computer center was clean. When I came in this afternoon, there were candy wrappers on the floor. You want to use the computer room, you sweep the floor!”
While Myana and Tyana would neither confirm or deny they were the culprits in ‘Candygate’, they took the broom! Both cleaned up, and when it was straightened up to Mr. Brown’s satisfaction, they were allowed to hop on the computers.
Mr. Brown’s Rules:
- No running
- No cursing
- No eating in the computer room
- No destructive behavior
- No fighting
And the kids respond. That’s what’s cool about Mr. Brown. He will throw a student out if they do any of these things. But students listen to them. Not only do they follow his rules, they keep coming back. Despite being a task master, kids respect Mr. Brown – and like him!
