Work today was difficult, it always is in some manner of speaking.  Today, I was forced to reflect on my interactions with a student that's relatively new to our class.  I'm very fortunate to work with a diverse community of children from all over the world.  Unfortunately, I only speak English and they all speak something else.  Last semester I taught 8 toddlers, from 8 different countries, that spoke 7 different languages.  This semester I get to spend my afternoons with 15 kindergarteners from around the world.

Now, this new child and his sister came to our class, and the US, just a few short weeks ago.  Honestly, it is astonishing with how far they have come with their language acquisition; however, today I realized that this particular child has simply not come as far as I had assumed.  Assumptions. I'm learning that you just can't make them as a teacher; those little minds and hearts hide so much from our view and we just have to keep digging deeper and deeper.  We had assumed, there I go assuming again, that behavior problems with this child had simply been that, behavioral problems.  I began to realize, though, that he might simply not understand what we are saying, even if he shakes his head.  So, when we asked him to sit on the carpet today and he didn't, I held his hand and brought him to the carpet and sat with him and told him that this was sitting.  He stood up and I felt like an idiot...the kids obviously knew what I had been saying the whole time and he just didn't want to sit down.  But then, a baby miracle happened, he walked over to the group and SAT DOWN! Now I really felt like an idiot, because he just really didn't understand me.  He needs just a little more attention.  Just a little more love.  Don't they all in some way? 

Like I said, a draining day overall.  Everyday at work is.  I hate being forced to reflect on my own teaching...it sucks.  But it makes me all the better for it and I should be thankful for that.