A bloody face at release time

I teach release time every week at blue ridge middle school. I really have a blast working in that environment, being on the school campus, and interacting with kids outside of my normal RidgeStudents group. Today I had the bright idea to have the kids engage the lesson through using something called the trust circle.

Everything went well all day long until the final class 30 minutes before the bell lets them out of school for the day. This time, when the very first girl tries the trust circle, she falls back, then is pushed forward (and not caught) and bounces her face off of a chair that was left too close to the circle. Immediately her face is covered in blood. Her braces are caught in her lip, and her gums are lacerated.

I have a volunteer take her to the bathroom, and then have to turn to the group and ask: "who wants to go next?" Needless to say, the class may not have been as productive as the earlier sessions. Her mother is called to the school where our volunteer meets them at the nurses office.

All I can imagine is the mother's face when she says: "You were doing what?"

I'm sorry Mrs. Mom... this is not the experience I had in mind either.