we still need the village.

i haven't cried over a student in a long time.
we still have the same problems and the same situations and the same stress as always, i think i've just learned how to manage my tears a little better. 

for the past three weeks, i've had a little friend in my office almost every single day. he's fighting. and spitting. and talking back. and climbing fences trying to escape from school. this is a feisty little one, who we had to work hard with last year to break him of some of his habits. before this month, i hadn't heard much from him - or about him. 

today, we both lost it.

he threw a rock at a bigger kid's head and the bigger kid decided he wasn't going to follow the no fighting rule anymore. my little man came into the office - bruised and battered, but still with that defiant look on his face, unbreakable. 

i picked him up and rocked him.
he wouldn't talk.
no answers to my questions at all.
until i asked if his dad was home. had he talked to dad lately? has anyone taken him to visit dad? 

and the big, fat tears welled up in his eyes and rolled down his face.
he hasn't seen his dad since july. his mom only lets him talk on the phone "sometimes" and why won't they just let him see his papi? and he whispered "i miss him so much."

sometimes as parents and as educators we forget that everything we do has the potential to affect our babies. sometimes it's obvious - this kid's dad is in jail - but as i held this little man, thrust overnight into being the "man" of the house, i realized that i hadn't hugged him or told him how much i love him in ages. 

tomorrow, we're going to take a picture of little man and his brother and i'm going to try my hardest to get it to his dad, along with a valentine's day card. we're going to meet with mom and see what's up. and hopefully get to the root of all this craziness.