Beaming children greet me at the door of their pre-1A classroom, where I recently began teaching a weekly specialty class. I share their excitement and tell them, “Guess what! You’re like butterflies, too. I watch you learning and growing every day, just as the butterflies did inside their cocoons. Now, come my little butterflies. Why don’t we put on our butterfly wings and fly off down the hallway?”
On tiptoe, we joyously flutter along to the classroom.
But “Elisheva” lingers, out of step with the others. She has not grasped the intent behind this endeavor. I know that once I begin class, I will need to continuously draw her into the activity at hand, while she will continuously, playfully, distract herself.
Bright-eyed and personable, she is not stupid, misbehaved, or learning-disabled. She’s simply “not ready.” As a former first-grade teacher, I sigh as I think about the struggle she will most likely endure in the year — if not years — ahead.
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