Part III: Pages 149 through 165 Summary and Analysis

May 4: Student B.B. has been intolerable in class, picking on kids and threatening them. He seems to go "crazy" at around 1:20 every day, almost as if Codell could set her watch to his misbehavior. She realizes that this is due to the school day nearing its end, and B.B. not wanting to go home to his crippled, ailing father, who was shot in gang cross-fire.

When B.B. calls Codell a bad word, it's the last straw. Codell confronts Mr. Turner and insists he discipline B.B. She feels as a teacher that disciplining should only go so far; once a student gets to a certain point, it is up to the principal to handle that child so other kids can learn. Mr. Turner, who is black, maintains that behavior is problematic for...