Lo Siento, No Comprende

How helpless I felt this morning, although I sincerely WANTED to do the right thing! I was on bus duty, and this is the busiest, most stressful week to have that job. The reason is that our 16 kindergarten classes are coming to school all together for the very first time. During the first two weeks of school, kindergarten students have staggered enrollment, which means that each child only comes to school one time a week. Each kindergarten teacher has around 5 children each day, which allows her to teach the routines and expectations in a more relaxed setting. So during this particular week, our kindergarten enrollment quadruples over the previous two. Add to this the fact that school is a brand new experience for these young children, which means that they're often feeling insecure and anxious, and maybe you can imagine a bit of the chaotic nature of getting hundreds of little students to their classrooms in an efficient manner and with a minimum of tears! Anyway, back to my helplessness. Mrs. Wells, our trusty bus duty leader, delivered a tiny, troubled kindergarten girl to me. The child spoke no English at all and was tearfully holding her stomach as if in pain. I figured that she, like many others, was unsure about where to go, where her teacher was, when she"d see Mommy again, and that these fears were causing her to have butterflies in her tummy. Fortunately, I had taught the little girl's class yesterday and recognized her. Since I knew who her teacher was, I led her over to the correct table, where she was supposed to sit and wait until time for class. She shook her head and cried softly but harder, and she seemed to be very hesitant to sit down. Knowing virtually no Spanish, I asked, "Bano?" which I hoped meant bathroom. She nodded her head vehemently, so I put my hand on her shoulder and walked toward the girls' room. As soon as we entered the hallway, she threw up. Bless her little heart. We all know what a horrible feeling it is to be that nauseated, and I felt terrible about not having understood. After helping her wash her face and hands, I took her to the office so someone could call her mom. After finding her a seat, I placed a trash can beside her just in case. My next challenge was to find someone who knew how to use the intercom so we could call our ESL teachers to make the call home in Spanish. It was still very early, and the office staff wasn't there yet. Just as I sent our curriculum coach to find the ESL teachers (since nobody in the office knew how to use the intercom), Carrie Arana, one of the people I was looking for, rounded the corner. Right behind her came Claudia Sanchez, who is our other ESL teacher. Together these two compassionate and helpful ladies took charge of the situation, consoling, getting the phone number, and calling home. I patted the sweet little invalid on the shoulder, gave her a smile, and said "Lo siento," which I hoped meant that I was sorry. After bus duty was over, I had time to empathize more deeply with the little girl. Like most of the other children, she was probably anxious about entering the crowded, noisy lunchroom to find a seat, wait, and get to the right classroom. Add to that the fact that she felt so sick, and then the fact that she didn't have anyone who understood her language, and it just seems like an almost traumatic way to start her second day of all-day kindergarten. I certainly could benefit by knowing some basic Spanish! I'm very grateful for our staff who works together so well, and I don't know what we'd do without Carrie's and Claudia's trustworthy assistance. In the future, I want to reach out to this sweet child, and when she learns more English (which she will quickly do), I plan to apologize to her for my lack of the kind of speedy help she needed this morning!