A STORY ABOUT A CHILD THAT TOUCHED MY HEART

My first year of teaching, I got this new student in my class at the middle of the year. She was very sweet and very quiet. She always made good grades and she was always doing everything that I needed or asked her to. One week came, and she did not come to school for atleast three days out the week back to back, and before I could call to check up on her, her mother called me that day and said, " This is Lacey's mom, (that was not really her name) and I am calling to let you know what is going on with my daughter. She continues to say, "My boyfriend got mad and set our house on fire with all of our clothes and everything else in it." She goes on to say, "None of my daughters have anything to wear and we do not have anywhere to stay." I felt really bad and wondered what I could do to help. The mother was a very involved mother and beyond this issue, I would have NEVER known that there was anything wrong. After this incident, the mother informed me that this was not his first time being violent. Nevertheless, the mom found a way that she could get herself and her daughters some help and they finished out the school year. They moved away after that so that they could be close to family. This taught me a very valuable lesson, it taught me that even when you THINK everything is ok in a child's life, it may not necessarily really be that way. Hindsight, this little girl did used to say how much she enjoyed being at school a lot and it was because she did not like to go home because of what was going on at home. You have to be able to show a deep and sincere concern and care about each and everyone of your students because you never know what they are dealing with at home. Always be aware that any student at any time could be going through something that you do not even have a clue about.