Is Kevin Bluffing? CAROL YAKE The moment seemed to float like a shimmering crystalline vision of eternity. A sensa- tion of icy fear traveled up Carol Yake's extremities as she stood, chalk in hand, frozen at the front of her classroom on the school’s second floor. Twenty-three of her sixth grade students sat breathless and still, their eyes fixed on their classmate, Kevin. He was perched precariously an the top railing af the second story staircase just outside of the classroom door, rocking to and fro. His contorted mask of rage and desperate wailing gave Carol the sense that she was holding vigil over a hell-tortured soul who, in a futile attempt to alleviate his suffering, might at any second hurl himself into the darkened abyss below. What had ignited this sudden outburst seemed irrelevant. The right response eluded her. Her mind raced es her bady remained immobile. Like the frequent, preceding eruptions, this one was doubtless kindled by some- thing as simple as Kevin's answering a question incorrectly or her not calling on him during class. Yet, Kevin's unpredictable outbursts threatened to rule her class by their sheer force and intensity. Carol found the perpetual fear that Kevin would injure the other students, himself, or her exhausting. After 14 years in the classroom, her keen intuition told her that Kevin must never sense that his outbursts frightened her, or how powerfully his behavior affected her. As a result, Caro! often found herself in the posi- tion of having to call his bluff by ignoring his tantrums and carefully gauging her emo- tional reactions to them. So far it had worked, but the stakes had never been as high as they were at this moment. Kevin had been diagnosed as psychotic and found eligible for placement in the ‘behavior disorders classroom. But the logistics of the situation this year at Lockhaven Elementary School made it more suitable, in the judgment of the principal, Ms. Rice, for Kevin to spend most of his school day in Carol’s classroom. She felt that the first- year behavior disorders teacher, Allison King, had neither the experience nor the nec- essary strategies to work effectively with Kevin in addition to 2 number of other diffi- 143144 4s Kevin Bhiffing? cult-to-manage students. Carol understood her reasoning and felt that, as an experi- enced professional, she should be willing to go along with the plan. As the year pro- gressed, she felt that Allison did her best to help with Kevin; but, for the most part, Carol assumed the primary responsibility for him, Carol and her students weathered Kevin's storms with stoic tolerance. The stur dents were careful not to provoke him. Carol suspected that this was because they were very afraid of him. They had witnessed his screaming, cursing, and destruction of the classroom during his frequent outbursts. They watched quietly the many times that Carol found it necessary to restrain him physically and was pummeled and kicked by his flailing arms and legs. Because she was aware that Kevin's behavior was frightening to her other students, Carol talked to them when he was out of the classroom. “Kevin,” she quietly explained to them, “has a handicap, just like a person who doesn't have an arm ora leg or is in a wheelchait. We can’t see Kevin's handicap, but we must deal with it. I need your help and understanding.” So far, she had gotten it; but, she could only hope that one of these students didn’t get hurt by inadvertently setting him off. Because Kevin’s tantrums were so frequent and violent, Ms. Rice had arranged for the maintenance man; John Patterson, to remove Kevin bodily from Carol’s classroom when necessary. Carol usually signaled a student to find John as she struggled to restrain Kevin, and moments later he would appear to carry the shrieking, struggling Kevin to Allison’s room. There, a wooden partition was erected to serve as a time-out site, where he was to remain until he became calm. Allison and Carol had written out a list of behaviors that would necessitate their placing him in time-out, and they had made sure that he understood them, This system seemed to work well enough, yet, it did not spare Carol from the apprehension and necessity of making critical, immediate decisions when Kevin exploded. She lived in dread of making the wrong choice. Several weeks ago, Kevin ran, ina fit of rage, to the plate glass window that ran the length of the classroom doonway, turned menacingly to Carol and declared, “T'm going to kick this right out of here.” Struggling to maintain a calm composure, Carol thought, he’s trying to scare me, to control me, and I can’t lee him. She heard her voice reply firmly, “You kick it, and your mother will pay for every penny it takes to replace it.” It was more difficult to conceal her relief when Kevin pulled his foot back and didn’t kick it in, She fully expected that he would. Nevertheless, she felt that the only thing to do under the circumstances was to call his bluff. Carol's approach was to gauge her reaction carefully against Kevin's tantrums so that he would not be able to guess that she was being intimidated or frightened by them, Also, she worked hard to manage her own emotions in the aftermath. When he became calm, she made it a point to forget the outburst and put it behind her, In fact, she made a great effort to conceal from Kevin her true feelings about him, As she explained to Allison, “I don’t really like him that much, but I make him believe that I do. In fact,” she added with a gentle laugh, “I think he thinks that he’s one of iny favorite students, I always treat him like I would anybody else, with theIs Kevin Blaffing? 145 utmost respect. I take the time to kid around with him and talk to him, I never talk to him in anything that even hints at an authoritarian voice.” Carol had built what she thought was a good rapport with Kevin based on their talking about his circumstances. During some of their private conversations, often held on the playground during, recess, Kevin confided in Carol about his real father, who used to beat him when he was small. She listened with quiet sympathy. She knew that his mother had remarried, and that he was no longer in danger of this abuse, though it had clearly left its mark. Carol was fairly convinced that this was where Kevin had learned to control others through terror. She also knew that he controlled his family this way. Close to the beginning of the school year, after Kevin had nearly destroyed the classroom by throwing desks, books, and equipment all over, Carol told him that he couldn’t leave until he straightened up. She called his mother and told her that she would have to come and pick him ap. After many stalling tactics, Kevin finally did a passable job of restoring physical order to the classroom. His mother appeared and took him home. Carol thought she had scored a victory—until the following morning, when Kevin showed her a popular toy car that his mother had purchased for him on the way home. She interpreted this as Kevin’s way of letting her know that she had not, after all, won. Tt became clear at that point that she could not count on cooperation from home to support her efforts with Kevin. This conviction was further reinforced when Carol notified his parents that he had talked of committing suicide. Kevin’s mother dismissed it lightly: “Oh, he’s threatened to do that before.” Now, as Kevin swayed ominously on the thin railing high above the first floor, Carol again struggied to remain calm. If she took a step in his direction, he might instinctively jerk and fall backward. The tiniest little jerk, she thought, will cause him, to go over the railing, Should I simply stand here and pray that he comes away? Will calling his bluff work this time? she asked herself desperately. Yet, the vacuous expres- sion on his face made her doubt that this was a bid for control. As she struggled to. make a decision, she heard the faint, stunned yoice of one of her students. “Mrs. Yake, if Kevin dies, will it be your fault?”