I filled in for a French Immersion teacher. The mini-prof of the day (a student) went around asking six other students how they were."Comment ça va?" Regardless of their answer, it had to be justified. When one little sweetie said "Ça va bien! and the mini-prof continued with "Pourquoi?", the former replied "Parce que Madame Duguay est ici." I have seen children sob, upon hearing that their regular teacher is absent, so for me, this was a supreme vote of confidence.
At indoor recess I was on supervision. In one classroom, every time I stopped in, someone would run to me complaining about the same student "He pushed me. He hurt so-and-so. He won't be nice". I could see that the young fellow in question was beginning to feel targeted; he was getting upset. It is easy to tell when he puts his head down dejectedly on his desk. So I quietly asked all the class to leave him alone, to stop picking on him; to cut him some slack, in other words. I then called him out to talk to privately and what he said broke my heart. "I am sorry Madame. I couldn't take my pill this morning, because they were none left."
This child was having a terrible morning, because he couldn't control his impulses and he wasn't able to take the medication he NEEDED to function. How sad is that?
The moral of the first story? Be GRATEFUL for life's small, sweet moments.
The moral of the second story? If you have to take a pill, literally, take it! And be GRATEFUL that you can.
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