TEACHER MODE = CAR CHASE

When I’m on my way to school and when I'm on my drive home from school, I’m in “teacher mode.” Teacher mode is similar to a mother bear. A mother bear is protective, fuzzy at times, and can also bear her teeth when she needs to. I protect my kids by giving them knowledge for the real world, I use the fuzz when I need to wrap them in love on bad days, and I bear my teeth at them when they’re idiots. When I’m in the “mode” I see all people in the world as my kids. Which is probably why I chased down a stolen Chevy SUV yesterday on foot.

I came out of the gym last Monday morning and headed to my car on the third floor of a large parking structure. I was humming “A person’s a person no matter how small” because I was about to go rehearse Seussical the Musical with my students. Two young African American men were at the front of my car, which faced a wall.

“You guys okay?” I asked, with confusion in my voice.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re good,” they said as they hurried into a large black Chevy with no plates.

I watched them start to drive away, about to go check out the front of my car. That’s when I heard a guy yell, “They took your plates,” as he drove out.

By the time that thought registered, the black Chevy was already winding down the garage ramps toward the exit.

I know this garage very well. Not only have I parked here almost daily for a couple years, I also helped a woman who was assaulted by her ex by running to the exit to take pictures of his car. I waited with her till police came (LA PD seem to take 80 minutes on female assault calls…yeesh).

Anyway, I was in teacher mode when the guy yelled to me that he saw the young men from the Chevy take my front plate. Teacher mode (the mother bear who chases after kids to correct them when they misstep) is what made me tear down the stairs and head right for the exit of the garage, which requires a short wait in a line of cars and a ticket to make the bar lift. The Chevy had just made it to the front of the line, when I ran up out of breath to the drivers window and stood in front of the ticket machine.

“Can I have my plates back?” I said huffing and puffing. My tone was the firm kind I use when my students act like idiots.  

The guy in the back, true to middle school student form, pretended he was not part of this and said in a accusing voice to his buddies,

“Give her the plates back!” to which the guys in the front were like, “Um, here you go.”

Then I somehow remembered to ask, “And can I have the screws too?”

“Give her the screws back!” said the guy in the backseat who continued on with his “I'm holier than my buddies” front.

The guy in the front, still a little in shock, handed the screws to me.

At this point, I simply said, “Okay, thanks" and turned to go.

As I walked away, the guy who had yelled that they’d taken my plates was in line behind them to leave the garage. And his jaw was dropped as he watched me walk off with my plates. Yes I could've asked them why they stole my plates. I could have taken a picture of what was probably a stolen car. I could've called the police. But I didn't have time. I had my rehearsal to get to and now I was late.

As I made my way back to my car, it hit me that I had just chased down a car on foot to get my stolen stuff back, and that I'd succeeded. I looked down to unlock my car. That's when I remembered that I was wearing my black lives matter t-shirt. Maybe this had something to do with their response…or maybe this had something to do with my response to what they did… Either way, it made me smile as I screwed my plates back on. Teacher mode. It doesn't matter who you are, I'm going to chase you down till you make a better choice.

PS: I realize that this was a potentially dangerous way to handle the situation. but it was also 11am and the parking structure was full of other people. And in my gut, I knew it would be okay. I know guts can be wrong, but mine is pretty right when I’m in teacher mode.

March 19, 2017