Tuesday, 22 November 2011

A Bad Day

Today as I entered the school I learnt that Cl and My both were away on a work shop and would be back only after two hours or so. Mz proposed me to go merge my group with Mks'
"But don't you think 36 children in one room and only two teachers would create a havoc? I have no problem in going but today I have some children in my group who would suffer badly if they were not given personal attention."
"So you want to be alone with your group? The problem is I can't let both you and Mks to be alone with the children because none of you are an official teacher. You know what I mean. But the real problem is there aren't enough teachers in school."
"I will go to Mks' group. No problem." I smiled assuredly. "Let all my children come then I will join Mks' group in about 10 minutes."

In next two minutes the whole story changed.
Athn who is the new German girl arrived. She had joined our group 3 weeks ago and comes for only 3 days a week. The first three days of her first week she was absolutely fine; the next week she fell ill and didn't come at all and then the next week when she did come both I and Cl were ill so she had such a hard time with strange faces and strange teachers and cried so much that her mother had to be called to take her back home.

So she came in crying. While I was talking to her already anxious mother and reassuring her that she would be fine and in case if she weren't we would call her, Jr came in. Jr is the little German boy who prefers only Cl and when he doesn't see her even for 1 minute breaks out crying apart from always making his entry in loud cries everyday, Cl or no Cl. The next instant Jn arrived who cries for his toy the whole day and he cries so very very loudly.
So I had three howling children and an untidy room. I thought I would settle the children and then quickly go to Mks' room. Ll wasn't leaving me, Hn was trying to hit or push the children whenever he could. I couldn't leave Athn even for half a minute as she really was very frightened. I couldn't even hear my own voice as the howling was almost deafening. I started singing songs with them but nobody could hear me and soon Mr and Fd and On etc started playing amongst themselves disrupting the discipline. Only five minutes must have gone and then Fc clutched his pants tightly and started crying. He had peed in his pants!!!
I took my group out planning to leave my children in his room while I would change Fc but I found Mks was having his morning circle with the children along with Mz and Bh ( She had come to collect her things and say goodbye!) I didn't like dropping myself on them like an atom bomb so I lead my group to the toilet alone
sang with them while I changed their diapers. Luckily Ath became quiet but Jn was still howling non stop behaving worse than newly admitted children or even babies in distress.

Mz came in to inform me that the workshop which Cl and My had gone to attend has been cancelled so they both are coming back in half an hour. She saw how I was and quickly sent Jln to help me out. Jln is the new English teacher in H's group. She stayed with me till Asy the model cum teacher replaced her. Soon Cl was back and the day became normal again...!

Athn didn't cry even once after the morning outbreak. She was happy and enjoyed everything we did. While the other children slept she nestled close to me in my arms and kept rubbing her cheeks against mine. She was talking to me all the time in her babble babble babble as she still can't say proper words yet. her mother was very happy and relieved to see her so happy and content! She told me the last time when she had brought her to school when I had been absent Athn had cried very very badly and so she had to come to take her away.
"I think you understand her very nicely. Look, she is reluctant to leave you and smiling at you so lovingly." Her mother remarked.

Ll doesn't sleep everyday. Today she didn't. She just lay in bed and kept calling my name very cutely; she must have uttered my name a hundred times! Once even Fd had done the same thing, I remember. Every morning when Ll comes in , as soon as she sees me, she runs to me and hugs me tightly giving me super cute smiles. Today when her mother came to collect her she refused to go. She said, "Mommy, go away. Bye bye Mommy." and stayed in my arms refusing to go.

Her mother was so happy to see her daughter happy in the school and I was too...

No comments:

Post a Comment