Last Thursday, I (Sandra) stopped by San Sebastian School to let Israel and Noel know that I was in town and to meet me after school. The school was empty except for the director, associate director and the boys' teacher. The classes had been dismissed early.
I chatted for a few minutes with the ladies. They told me that they were so proud of the boys and the progress with their studies. They said that the boys were extremely polite and well behaved. It was a joy to have them in their school.
Well, as a proud "mama", I walked out of the school with my head high and spirits soaring. I went on to do my errands and would catch up with the boys when I got home.
Later that evening, Preston spoke to me that Israel had told him he "did not want to go back to school". I was reeling because this announcement was so unexpected after what I had been told earlier in the day by the teaching staff. I went to Israel and asked him if something had happened at school with the kids to make him not want to continue with school. He said no. I had my doubts, but I told him that if he wanted to take the next day off from school, we would allow it and we would talk in the morning.
Israel was with us the next morning for devotions since he stayed home from school. He was quiet, which is nothing unusual for him; but he was sad. He is a very sensitive young man and gets his feelings hurt easily. I asked him if the kids at school were being cruel to him, or if they had said something that hurt his feelings. He would not admit to anything, but he did say that he did not like the kids. This I knew was not true; and I also knew that I would not get the real answer from him.
So, I tried to talk to him from another angle. I spoke to him about how sometimes kids can say things that may not be kind or they may be jealous because a lot of attention had been shown him lately by the teachers. We encouraged him to not let anyone rob him of the opportunity of completing school this year. We spoke to him of the importance of getting his promotion certificate so that we could pursue finding a school next year that would accept him in order for him to hopefully complete "high school". We talked about all the roadblocks that would be put up to get him to quit, to not realize his dream of getting his diploma, and to not achieve the ability to be able to work at a job that would allow him to take care of himself and his future family. The discussion ended by asking him to think over what we talked about and give us an answer in a couple of days.
During the mid morning, Noel came home from school early and he was accompanied by his teacher and 2 classmates. The teacher wanted to talk to us and to Israel. She was concerned about Israel not being in school. Noel had told her about Israel's comment the night before. She had talked with the class and was able to find out what had happened to prompt Israel's announcement. The class received a reprimand about their behavior. She was deeply concerned that Israel might not return to school.
Thus, they came looking for him. They, the teacher and 2 classmates, road the bus through town and out to our home. They came to talk to Israel and ask him to come back to school. She, too, encouraged him to NEVER give up. It meant a lot to Israel that there are people in his life that care about him. It meant a lot to Preston and I that the school cares so much about Israel that they would come to OUR home to talk. We were not asked to come to the school for a discussion, they came to us.
Israel went back to school today. He came home excited because he had aced his exam. Exams are in full swing at school prior to the first report card. This young man is in his first year of school, taking a combined 5th and 6th grade and he is almost 19 years old. He is 5 years older than the next oldest student. He is a young man of courage, struggling some days to keep up with his peers academically. He deserves to be celebrated.
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