Goodbye Sweet Girl

I must say, registration day is an interesting day at the beginning of every school year. You meet twenty-plus children and their parents in a few short hours. They look around your room, sometimes share problems and family situations, pay fees, get a supply list, and leave. You spend the next couple of days trying to figure out what your year is going to be like.

A sweet, quiet girl was brought to school by a bus on Registration Day this school year. No parent, no fees, no questions, no words. She did not speak...I wasn't sure if she knew any English. She would giggle and tuck her head when I spoke to her, but never gave an answer.

The first day of school arrives, and you try to see if you can recall the names of the students you met on registration day. You automatically begin assessing each student. You give them "fun" activities so you can assess their writing skills, their listening skills, and a variety of other abilities. You quickly delve into testing each child's vocabulary, fluency, comprehension, computation, and verbal skills. You give timed tests, computer generated tests, and math tests. Tests, tests, tests! You try to see what your students know, and who needs help.

A sweet girl knows no sight words. She reads zero words per minute. She does not know how to add, subtract, read. Does she know any English? After working with her for a while, I come to the realization that she only knows part of her ABC's, some colors, and some shapes. Still the same sweet giggle and the shy look.

You get into contact with her teacher from the previous grade and location. She tells you that she's probably an illegal, and that she just "put her in front of a computer" and tells you that you "shouldn't worry with her much." What??? This infuriates you, and you are determined to help this girl learn to read and to feel successful.

You work with this sweet girl every second you get to. You read to her, teach her ABC's, show her flash cards, and do everything that you can think of to help her. A few months after school begins, she is beginning to talk more and more. She is learning.

A sweet girl came to America with her father. It was a traumatic experience. She had to leave her mother and brothers and sisters. She longs for her mother. She talks about how her dad does not love her mom anymore and how she misses her mom. She is embarrassed so easily when talk of mothers comes up in the classroom. She tells you that she wishes you could be her mother.

I sit and listen in amazement as this sweet girl reads a first grade book to me at Christmastime. I get tears in my eyes. I tell her over, and over, again how proud of her I am. I hug her and tell her how smart she is. We keep practicing and she keeps learning.

You wrap up your school year. You clean, move furniture, average grades, return books, and prepare for the end of school. You think about each student and the progress they have made throughout the year. You try to determine if each child is ready for the next grade. She can read at (almost) a second grade level. She gets along great with her classmates. She chats and plays. She comes and tells me stories like other children in the class.

Today, I said goodbye to a sweet girl. I knew today would be hard. I knew that telling her goodbye would be so very difficult for me. She stopped in the doorway and looked at me. I told her how much I love her and that I am so proud of her. She tucked her head, giggled, and said, "I love you, too." My heart hurt. I pray that the love of Christ that I tried to show her this year, is something that she will remember. I am not sure where she will go to school next year, or if I will ever see her again. Goodbye sweet girl!