I hear this story 15 years later. No much details have been given to me and the names have been changed.
In the late nineties, a young mother from central America was struggling to raise her two young boys. Extreme poverty, social disadvantages, and insecurity forced this young woman to take a risky decision. Here she was about crossing the Rio Grande at the Mexican border with the U.S.A. Suddenly, a strange thought changed her state of mind, and she decided to cross the River alone. It is unknown why she decided to leave her two young boys all alone by the river banks on the Mexican side. Days passed, and this young mother finally arrived at her relatives' house; to the horror of everyone, she was alone and had no answers about her two young boys. In a desperate attempt to rescue the two young boys, one member of the family rushed to the U.S./Mexican border. Once at the crossing point, this person got in touch with a "coyote" (an illegal immigration smuggler) who helped him to go back to the border by the same route the young woman had passed a week earlier.
Once at the other side of the river, the search began, asking villagers of nearby towns about the two young kids who were under ten years of age. Several days passed and there was no information about these two young boys. Then, the day came when this family member was walking by a trash dumpster, suddenly, he spotted a young homeless kid trying to find food from the trash. As he approached him, the uncle was able to recognize one of the two boys, a few hours later the second boy was found. In took some days for these two young boys to get reunited with their family and start a second chance in life.
Why I am telling you this story. Because I am a teacher; fifteen years ago I was in the classroom trying to get to terms with a challenging student. At that time this young boy was still at Elementary school. I had no idea what life this young guy had in the past. I had no idea how this young boy had now a second chance in life to be somebody. However, his defiant attitude and rebel character hid away from me what this young boy had passed in his short life. To me, he was just a troublemaker, and indeed he was. There were days in which I wished he was not in my class. But life continued, we both moved on and took on different routes. I went to a different school to continue with my teaching career, and this young fellow also transferred to another school.
Fifteen years later, on a church potluck conversation, I hear this story. It impacted me deeply, but when I heard the name of this young boy, I was frozen. It is like if I was taken back in time and flashes of him in the class and the struggles I had with him just came back vividly in my mind. I admit I used all my disciplinary "powers" to keep this kid in check. But, now I just wonder. I WISH I KNEW his story at that time. How different I would have see him. What things would I have done differently?
There are many stories behind the different faces of many of our students. How different would it be if we, the teachers, knew at least something that could help us to see them differently? This story touched me deeply and reminded me that even after many years in the field, there are still things to learn. My father used to say, if you will make a mistake, it is better to be mistaken by loving, than by being harsh. I WISH I KNEW Jose's story before.
David Nino
In the late nineties, a young mother from central America was struggling to raise her two young boys. Extreme poverty, social disadvantages, and insecurity forced this young woman to take a risky decision. Here she was about crossing the Rio Grande at the Mexican border with the U.S.A. Suddenly, a strange thought changed her state of mind, and she decided to cross the River alone. It is unknown why she decided to leave her two young boys all alone by the river banks on the Mexican side. Days passed, and this young mother finally arrived at her relatives' house; to the horror of everyone, she was alone and had no answers about her two young boys. In a desperate attempt to rescue the two young boys, one member of the family rushed to the U.S./Mexican border. Once at the crossing point, this person got in touch with a "coyote" (an illegal immigration smuggler) who helped him to go back to the border by the same route the young woman had passed a week earlier.
Once at the other side of the river, the search began, asking villagers of nearby towns about the two young kids who were under ten years of age. Several days passed and there was no information about these two young boys. Then, the day came when this family member was walking by a trash dumpster, suddenly, he spotted a young homeless kid trying to find food from the trash. As he approached him, the uncle was able to recognize one of the two boys, a few hours later the second boy was found. In took some days for these two young boys to get reunited with their family and start a second chance in life.
Why I am telling you this story. Because I am a teacher; fifteen years ago I was in the classroom trying to get to terms with a challenging student. At that time this young boy was still at Elementary school. I had no idea what life this young guy had in the past. I had no idea how this young boy had now a second chance in life to be somebody. However, his defiant attitude and rebel character hid away from me what this young boy had passed in his short life. To me, he was just a troublemaker, and indeed he was. There were days in which I wished he was not in my class. But life continued, we both moved on and took on different routes. I went to a different school to continue with my teaching career, and this young fellow also transferred to another school.
Fifteen years later, on a church potluck conversation, I hear this story. It impacted me deeply, but when I heard the name of this young boy, I was frozen. It is like if I was taken back in time and flashes of him in the class and the struggles I had with him just came back vividly in my mind. I admit I used all my disciplinary "powers" to keep this kid in check. But, now I just wonder. I WISH I KNEW his story at that time. How different I would have see him. What things would I have done differently?
There are many stories behind the different faces of many of our students. How different would it be if we, the teachers, knew at least something that could help us to see them differently? This story touched me deeply and reminded me that even after many years in the field, there are still things to learn. My father used to say, if you will make a mistake, it is better to be mistaken by loving, than by being harsh. I WISH I KNEW Jose's story before.
David Nino