When I last posted yesterday I was running back up to the school because someone had dropped a child off. I glanced at the clock as I came in the back of the school, it was 10:07. I went straight to the 3rd grade classroom closest to the doors where the students normally come into the school in the morning. There she was with one of the teachers who had been at the school since the second time I'd been there that morning. Cheryl had her drawing with markers and they were chatting about the things she was learning in her kindergarten class.
I learned that our custodian had been about to leave for the day being that classes had been canceled and not just delayed. He was going through his last duty before walking out the door to his car. Joseph checks all the outside doors, making his way all around the school to the last door where he goes out to his car. At the first door, the one that students normally enter through, he finds this little girl peering into the school. Her uncle had brought her and allowed her to get out of the car despite the fact there were only 2 cars in the parking lot. He evidently drove away as she was walking up to the school and didn't see that she couldn't get into the school with the doors being locked.
Thank goodness that Joseph checked the doors... she may have been left out there who knows how long. It was 27 degrees with a wind chill of 17 around that time.
She was very calm and not frightened by the fact that there were only 4 of us in the school, an empty school can seem very creepy, almost haunted at times. I sent Joseph on his way, as he had to drive to East Dallas to get home. Cheryl finished some organizing in her room. And the little girl and I pulled up some chairs to wait by a door where we had a clear view of 3 different doorways, to wait for her Uncle to return. Seems this little girl lives in another neighborhood across town (bilingual students are bused to our school for classes) and there would have been no way for her to have walked back to her home had Joseph not found her.
After about 30 minutes, her uncle showed up and a cousin came to the door to help her to their truck. I explained that school had been canceled, but a good clue to that would have been the lack of cars in the parking lot. I also explained that if they didn't see a teacher helping students out of cars or standing holding the doors open, they should walk the child into the school. I'm just hoping this was the first time the uncle ever took a child to school and didn't really know the routine. Maybe I shouldn't have said that about drop-kicking kids out of the car! Didn't Jolea say "post it and it will happen."
Go to my other blog to read about the conversation between me and the little girl....
We're back in business today... just heavy fog. Should get up to the mid 60's today. They are saying 70's tomorrow! The coat hangers in the closet are really getting a work out.
3 more days until Christmas Break! We have a saying in the office.... we have to pay for our time off.... I'm going to put the donation can out this morning, we'll check for full moons and see what the barometric pressure is..... I should be paid up by now.
6 comments:
omg thats crazy! I forgot your other blog address....
It's right over there on the right, at the top of the list... where it says my other blog.... I changed the name, I kept hearing that stupid song... Now it's like "that's what SHE said.."
That really was lucky that the super was still there. Poor kid, sounds really confused about life, mind you I think I was there - my first year in Aus, when I really didn´t understand the language or the way things went down. Went to a friends after school about 5 kms from home and no one knew where I was... imagine my folks when I came home 2 hours late - I am still amazed that I found my way there...
Yeah, I remember a time when my dad took me to a Girl Scout meeting and I convinced him we were at the right house, so he let me out of the car. I waved goodbye and he drove away... the actual house I needed to be at was one street over, they all looked the same in the DARK! So when I knocked on the door this biker dude opened it and there was an entire biker gang in the living room. I said "I think I have the wrong house" and turned and took off running down the street. I had to run about 4 miles to our house across a major 6 lane street, and across several open fields. When I rounded the corner to on our street I could see my dad going into the house. I had almost beat him home! He had to go around those fields.
Later when I was older my mom told me that this was the only time she ever saw my dad cry... the thought of leaving his child at the wrong house almost killed him. From then on neither of my parents would leave unless they knew and saw who was at the door when we went in. And I too would do this with my own kids. I would have to go into the house... I almost wouldn't leave Jolea at a friends to spend the night because their carpet was really dirty!
It's just a scary thought... some people just don't even think about what they are doing when they are raising their kids.
When I told her Kindergarten teacher today, she almost wept. She said the parents are very neglectful.
This makes me want to teach again. I can't have those thoughts though. Gotta go erase my mind again.
Godinla I knew this would cause feelins in you... We get this kind of stuff all the time. Title 1 school. This guys problem may have been lack of info.
But we've heard that some of the schools over in the more affluent neighborhoods had 40 to 50 kids dropped off and parents actually crying when they were called.... if they had to come back and take care of their child they'd loose their job and then their house and that proverbial ball would start rolling. I'd hate to have to live so close to the edge like that.
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