Blast From the Past

Today a tall High Schooler came by to see me after school. He said "Remember me Ms. V?" I did not but didn't want to tell him no. I paused for a minute trying to remember. He then took off his hat and rearranged his hair and it hit me...Jorge!!!

I didn't recognize jorge at first because not only has he transformed into a tall man, (ok..almost a man) but he was dressed so differently. The Jorge I remembered was a perfectly dressed, uniform wearing kid. He always had his hair combed and his clothing was immaculate down to the tucked in and buttoned all the way up, crisp, white shirt. Today he was sporting Dickies and an oversized t-shirt. (not tucked in btw)

What didn't change about Jorge was his great sense of humor and his kindness. He came to give me a hug and tell me he was doing well.

What a treat!!!

A GREAT conference

Yesterday a parent came in to talk to me after school. He is actually a guardian (uncle) for my student from Oaxaca. It was hands down the best conference I have ever had with a guardian/parent.

The uncle came in and asked me excellent questions about the progress of his niece as well as suggestions for how he and his wife could help her out at home. He apologized many times and told me that he didn't have a good education and he wanted to make sure that his niece had the best possible opportunities in life.

I was so impressed by his questions and his commitment to his niece. She will certainly go far with someone as dedicated as her uncle to help her along the way.

I felt so wonderful for this little girl after our meeting. (very hopeful) I don't usually get to end the day on quite so great of a moment. That meeting made the rest of my afternoon and evening. I wish I (and my students) could have more of those days.

Update

A few weeks ago I wrote about a new student in my class from Mexico. She has been with me for about a month now. I have learned a lot about this young lady but I still have more to learn.

Academically, she is low functioning. I am not convinced though that it is due to language or a learning disability. "Cindi" has been in and out of homes and schools all of her life. She has been back and forth between California and Mexico many times. She actually attended school in both places. I think that she has never been in school long enough to grasp the language much less the concepts that are taught at each grade. When I work one on one with Cindi, she catches on very quickly and gives me the impression that she could perform on grade level if given the chance to stay put and really focus on studying.

I still don't have a clear picture on all of the places that Cindi has lived or how long she was at the schools that are mentioned in her cummulative records. Interestingly enough, when we called one school mentioned they had no record of her attending that school. I wonder if this is because she never attended that school or because she was there for just a few days.

What I do know about this girl is that she has lived a hard life. Her mother is dead and she has no clue as to the whereabouts of her father. She has been raised by different family members. She is now currently living with her aunt and uncle. I don't know what her other relatives were like but this couple is amazing. Cindi comes to school well groomed each day and the aunt stops by to talk to me for clarification on homework, classwork or to see how Cindi is behaving. Cindi is pretty well trained too. She behaves pretty well and at the end of each day she comes to find me and shake my hand. She says "Gracias Maestra. !Hasta Mañana!" (so cute - she gets a hug from me each time -I love it!)

I really hope that Cindi gets to stay with her aunt and uncle for a long time. They seem to really love and care about her. I can't help but think that if she had a stable loving environment she would be able to catch up with the rest of her grade level peers.

Oh! One more thing...
Yesterday as I was pulling up to school I witnessed a private moment between Cindi and her aunt. Her aunt was walking her to school. As they were approaching the room, Cindi's aunt kept primping Cindi for school. (pulling lint off of her clothes and fixing her hair) She then stopped a bit away from the classroom where she was going to leve Cindi to walk to the room on her own. Cindi turned around and received her bendición from her aunt and a big hug and a kiss. I felt so happy for Cindi and her aunt. Those two really are lucky to have each other.

More School Stuff

This month I lost two students. One went to an SDL class and one moved to Texas. On Friday, if one of my students does not return from her trip to Mexico, I will lose a third. Today, a new student joined our room. She comes to us directly from Oaxaca. She was apparently born here in town but then went to Mexico to live with her mom. When I asked about her family she told me that her mom just died and that "no se, pero creo que padre no tengo." (I'm not sure but I don't think I have a dad) She is now living with her uncle and his wife and kids.

My Challenge: She speaks NO English. Really, none! This will be another issue for me to juggle with all of the other things I have to balance in my day. Today went really well but I came home exhausted from doing so much TPR and translating in addition to teaching my other little ones. I think that my teaching didn't suffer but I am WORN OUT!

The Positives: She is eager, friendly and she seems to fit right in. She is not shy and made friends quickly. She attended pre-school and at least first grade in Mexico. She has a ton of paperwork that came with her from her schools in Mexico. I will need to spend some time looking through them. They are quite interesting. I have never had any paperwork accompany a child from Mexico before so it is a special treat to have documents to review.

Here's hoping for the best!!!