Module 3
Handout 17: Rose's Journal
October 12
A new child came into my class today. Her name is Magda and she is four. She lives with her mom and an aunt. They both speak mostly Spanish, but Magda seems to speak both English and Spanish pretty well. I'm glad that there are a few other children in the class who speak Spanish too. Magda kept pretty close to them today, but she didn't say much.
October 20I've been watching Magda pretty closely. She doesn't seem to really relate to anyone. And it's so hard for her to focus. During free play, she just wanders from activity to activity. And I've noticed that wherever she is, there's usually trouble: every day there is at least one minor incident. She'll poke kids. Or pull their hair. Or grab a toy out of someone's hand. Then yesterday she pushed Max off a swing. I told her that we don't do things like that in our class, that everyone needs to be safe. She said, "I didn't do it." Then she said, "I did it on accident."
October 24
We took the kids to the big playground today. One second Magda was going down the slide; the next thing I know, she's out of the gate, and bolting down Oxford Street. I yelled for her to stop, but she just kept running. When I finally caught up with her, I tried to be calm. I gently took her hand and said, "Let's go back now. You need to stay with the others. It's my job to keep you safe." When we got back to the playground, she raced around and around. Sometimes she just seems so fearless. I hope she'll begin to settle down soon, but I don't know.
October 27
Magda's starting to have tantrums. It's hard to know what starts it. But suddenly, she'll just lose it. Then she bangs her fists against the wall and screams. Today, I tried to calm her down, but nothing seemed to work: Then Magda's mother walked into the room. She went right to Magda and hugged her tight. Magda cried quietly for a little while. Then she was quiet. After a while, Magda said, "Okay," to her mother. "Magda not a-scared. Magda okay."
November 3
Today, the kids were standing on line, when Magda scratched Max's face, then bit him. Max fell apart and so did Magda. All the kids were really scared. I am too. I always try to make sure that someone is keeping an eye on Magda, but with 17 kids in the classroom, I can't always be there. Neither can the assistant, or the parent volunteer. I just don't know what to do.
November 4
Max's father called me at home, demanding an explanation. He said his son was afraid to come to school. And he wasn't the only one. He's heard that other kids didn't feel safe, either. Then he said, "And why should they? The class is out of control... what are YOU going to do about it?" I wanted to assure him that things would get better, but I'm not so sure..; I'm at the end of my rope