The Substitute

Last weekend Beulah Mam’s(Clay’s teacher) brother died of tuberculosis. We found out that she would be gone all week and Clay would have a substitute teacher in class. On Monday morning, he cried on the walk to school. As we got to his classroom, I tried to console him. “Clay, I’m sure you’ll have a very nice sub while Beulah is gone.” One of the office workers came over and asked if he was okay. Here’s the conversation that followed:
Me: “Yes, he’s just sad his teacher is not here today.” The conversation took a turn.
Gulabi: “Adrienne, Can you help the assistant teacher with the class today?”
Me: “That’s Sarita, right? She’s actually gone for the week.”
Gulabi: “Oh, can you be the teacher today? And, do you need an assistant?”
Me: “Yes, I could. I’ll ask Jeff to be my assistant!”
So, we ended up subbing for the class of 36 crazy kindergarteners packed in a room with concrete floors so the sound bounces all over. Their desks squeak on the floor each time one moves. They yell “Mam, mam” to get my attention even if I am helping someone else. They hit and chase each other. Not everyone has a pencil, crayons, or an eraser. They speak very little English and only Hindi to each other. We started out with very few lesson plans, so we were just winging it. Since Monday was Groundhog Day in the USA, Jeff took the kids outside and showed them their shadows and talked about what a groundhog is. I ended up subbing in the class the whole week.
Being in this class opened up a window into Clay’s world for us. He has no friends, because the children don’t speak English and he can’t communicate with them. I think he must feel very alone. We’ve just been telling Clay to “buck up” but this helps us to be sensitive to the things that are happening and that this is a major culture shock for him.
My Amy Carmichael quote of the week says: “Let us not be surprised when we have to face difficulties. When the wind blows hard on a tree, the roots stretch and grow stronger. Let it be so with us.” It’s been a pretty “windy” world for Clayton being in India. We are praying that his roots will grow stronger and that he will find God to be near. May that be so for each one of us.