Yesterday Luis was having a bad day. I'm not sure why because he wouldn't talk to me, but I think it had something to do with a test. Anyway the tears were flowing. His tablemates were very concerned. They tried to get to the bottom of the problem, but Luis's head would not come up off his desk.
This situation is one of the great things about my job. Here was a real life 1st grade drama playing out right in front of me. I was watching Tanya because she is a very kind little girl and I was very interested in what she would do. At that moment, the assignment was to cut out the spelling word tiles for the week. She got two pair of scissors and put them on Luis's desk. Following that she put her hand on his forehead and pushed his head up off the desk. Then she said, "Which scissors do you want to cut your letters out with?" Luis, seeing that Tanya was not going to take no for an answer, picked up the scissors and started to cut. The crying stopped and the crisis was averted. When some other little boy started to tease Luis about crying, Tanya said, "Just ignore him."
Sometimes, I see the worst in kids, but I also get to see the best. Tanya's actions brightened my day. I'm grateful that there are little girls like her in the world.
