In the spirit of Christmas - teacher helps mother and daughter

How a teacher changed the lives of a mother and child

Every morning a first grader of mine - I'll call her Gretchen - came to school in tears. Her mother, who brought her, would hang around as Gretchen cried to the point of giving herself hiccups. Then the minute her mother left, after the morning announcements, Gretchen would stop.

Gretchen's family had moved from the Czech Republic to Chattanooga, Tennessee, only the year before. Yet the child had no language difficulties. In fact, she was in the top reading group, making straight As. She was a gentle, loving person, got along well with her classmates, and seemed to love school.

According to her mother, however, Gretchen did not like school. Mrs. Bretnikova, as I'll call her, told the principal that Gretchen cried herself to sleep every night. He suggested that I enlist Gretchen as my special helper, let her come to my room before classes so she and I could bond. But with Mrs. Bretnikova hovering, Gretchen and I never had any time alone. Obviously, her mother was having a hard time letting go, and it was making her daughter miserable.

After a couple of weeks of this, I scheduled a conference with Mrs. Bretnikova, to get to the root of the problem. Moments after we began talking, she burst into tears. I took her hand to try to comfort her. Clinging to me, she told me about the life and the people she had left behind - including the grandmother with whom she lived, after her own mother died, until she was 16.

An extremely intelligent woman, Mrs. Bretnikova could speak five languages and had held a highly respected government position. But when her husband decided to move to the United States, she felt she had lost everything - her job, her family, her homeland. They settled in Chattanooga, and Mr. Bretnikova immersed himself in his job, leaving his wife to fend for herself. She, in turn, immersed herself in her children. When Gretchen, her youngest, started school, Mrs. Bretnikova became severely depressed. She dreaded the long days alone.

I asked Mrs. Bretnikova if she would be willing to volunteer some of her time in my classroom, teaching my students a foreign language and helping slower students with their reading. She was thrilled with the idea. "Miss Vera," as she became known to all of us, proved an excellent teacher. The children adored her. She blossomed into a happy, self-satisfied woman and decided to return to school.

Almost at once Gretchen stopped her crying. She looked forward to the days her mother came to help. We were all excited for, and proud of, Miss Vera when she graduated from the university with a degree in special education.

At Christmas, Vera gave me two very delicate ornaments that her beloved grandmother had made. Each year as I hang them on my tree, I remember the joy these lovely people have brought me.

Lisa Ezzell taught fifth grade in Cohutta, GA, and first grade in Chattanooga, TN.

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