Bri and Ana attend a special ed pre-school several times a week for a couple of hours a session. It has been a great experience for them. Jennifer typically picks the girls up from school but Jennifer was prepping for her "Once a Month Cooking" Saturday so I picked the girls up.
I was standing outside of Ana's classroom just, you know, watching her interact with another little girl and her teachers. One of her teachers finally looked up and noticed me. She stood up and said, "Ok Riley, your Dad is here." The little girl, Riley, looked up at me and then went back to coloring while her teacher got up and started collecting her things. "Come on sweety, time to go". Riley didn't move. It finally dawned on me what was going on so I spoke up and said "Hey Ana!" Ana looked up and said "DADDDDDDDDDY!!", and started running towards me.
I could visually see the blood slowly leave her teacher's face as she replaced "Riley's" belongings and started digging out Ana's. I acted like I didn't notice because the obvious embarrassment was punishment enough. And in case you were not completely clear on what just happened...Riley was white and Ana is a nice mocha tone.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Mistaken Identity
Posted by paddy1mac at 8:45 PM
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2 comments:
Ahhhh. An eye opener! You are a good man to not "bust her out". We all learn, everyday - don't we?
Kris
Yes, as a teacher who has "been there, done that" I appreciate your consideration for her. Actually, now days it isn't that unusual to meet parents who are differently colored than their children, and that's even biological parents. I have several where I teach, so I guess I'm more cautious about jumping to conclusions if I've never met a student's parents. There's also the matter of different last names. . . another sad theme for today's families. Yours, however is quite special and unique, and, I might add, "Heaven blessed".
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