05/08/2018
From the author : Marleth, arguably was one of the most precious, shy, loving, dedicated, persistent angel/child I have ever met in my life. I first knew her as a totally withdrawn first grade girl, non-English speaking, who was described to me by her kindergarten teacher as being completely silent and reticent through her entire 9 months of kindergarten. I have been around, played with, supervised, protected my 7 younger cousins from the age of 8. Our families lived close together so we spent a lot of weekends and holidays together. Since my brother and I were both 3 years older than all our cousins, on family outings we were, my older brother and I, entrusted with watching over, supervising, playing with, and in general just keep our cousins, 5 girls and 2 boys safe and engaged. My whole life much of which was characterized by travel, not only on family vacations as a youth but after college hitchhiking back and forth across the United States, Canada, and brief trips to the islands of the Bahamas. I majored in French in high school and obtained a job working at a four star resort in the south of France. Although my professional qualifications for a career in France, as a professionally trained server were lacking, they took my fluency in French as well as a skill set of social skills gararned by a highly educated socially literate family, augmented by multiracial friends all the way through school. My acceptance as a fine dining server in this small lovely resort on the Atlantic coast of France about 50 miles north of the border of Spain and Portugal was a gift.
Inspirational to say the least, my time in France and England opened my eyes to the cultural heritage of my bloodline, which was traced back 400 years to Irish and English descendants. My decision to go into elementary education was precipitated as much by many years in this country, spent around not only my 7 cousins, but many children I met in my travels in this country and Mexico.
My placement in primarily ESOL classrooms, English for speakers of other languages, was a convenience for all the schools I taught in, elementary through high school. It was not my choice, however, to be taken out of my major, certification in first through fifth grade, but rather the necessity of all the principals of the schools in which I taught for an onsight translator. Teaching, however is a "calling" in this country, rather than a "profession" in the United States, since even with a Master's Degree, you would be better served economically by working the drive-thru window at Taco Bell and working your way up to General Manager of Taco Bell. It is sad but you get what you pay for, and in this country, the United States, our public school system only graduates about 12% of all students who enter elementary school from a 4 year university with a bachelor's degree. The other 88% might make it to high school, but not all those complete the requirements for a high school diploma. You are, therefore, swimming upstream as an elementary school teacher, especially when dealing with students from non- English speaking countries.
That being said, Marleth was a . "diamond in the rough" so to speak. I made a special project of her, and after setting my first grade class of all Spanish speaking students into distinct centers: reading, art, free play, social studies, science and language arts, I proceeded to focus on Marleth about 70% of my time, the first week, while I trusted the other students to move freely between centers, so I could plant myself on the floor next to Marleth's desk. I said little, mostly observed, made a few obtuse comments about her hair, clothes, little rings or bracelets and basically just kept my distance. After a week of total silence, she looked at me and started to talk for the first time since she had entered kindergarten. I made nothing of it, let her ramble on about whatever was on her mind. During recess, or outdoor free play time, I made no effort to approach her or engage with her in any way that differed from my normal interactions with the other students. Due to the fact that I had given her room to breathe she opened up like a flower that had never been watered.
I, therefore, made her the central figure in short books I wrote and my 4th grade daughter illustrated. Time was of the essence, however, so I wrote as fast as I could, about 20 age-appropriate books using Marleth as the central figure and the other kids: Chayo, Guadalupe, Maggali, Lorena, Staci, Eduardo, Felipe, Marisol and others to fill in the plotlines, all based on the small tropical island where they lived, protected by nature and the animals. If this first book ever generates enough money to allow me to write other books, I will probably stick to the e-book format, since it is much cheaper to download.
In any event, please enjoy this first book and bear in mind that I could write 30 of these books in English and Spanish, or English and Dutch, or English and Portugese or whatever. The key is to get kids reading their own language first, then, if they are so inclined, move them into a second language, which in most cases is English. Never met an angel? I have. Her name is Marleth.
