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Here is another story from my teaching archives. Amidst all the opinions on immigration, the plight of the children is often disregarded.

As shy as a butterfly, and as silent, Mariposa joined the ENL kindergarten group in the first week of October.  Her presence made the group into an even dozen.  The children were mostly of Mexican background, but there were also children whose first languages were Arabic and Korean.

         Mariposa refused to speak.  During my initial language interview, she not only would not answer any question, she turned her back on me.  Later, during the requisite screening, it became obvious that Mariposa understood a fair amount of English.  She pointed to the objects that I named in the cut-away picture of a house.  She simply refused to speak in English or in Spanish.

         The week following her admission, we began ESL lessons.  Mariposa sat wide-eyed and observant, and silent.  The other kids said, “She don’t talk.”

         “That’s ok,” I said.  “She’ll talk when she’s ready.”

         Many non-native speakers go through this “silent period” when they enter a new school.  Experiencing immersion in a new language, new culture and social situation can be overwhelming.  When other affective influences are considered, it is easy to understand the reasons for a silent period.  An English language learner may have arrived from a worn-torn country, or have left beloved family members behind at home.  The child may have lived in extreme poverty, may have attended school erratically, or not at all.

         One student of mine, not Mariposa, was also silent for the first weeks.  She also presented such blank eyes that we thought she might have a learning disability, or even possibly a hearing deficit.  Her mask was, it turned out, a type of self-defense.  Now that she is talking, this girl demonstrates an uncanny memory, in English.

         Many immigrant families have stories they dare not tell, stories of border crossings in airless, crowded trucks, or night-covered runs through the desert.  Many are living two or three families in one tiny apartment. All are seeking a better life for themselves and their children who come to me every school day.

         Mariposa’s first interactions were gentle taps on my arm to get my attention.  She pointed to a scissors she needed, or to a child who was not following directions.  She was a capable child, cutting and coloring accurately and finishing her work before most of the others.

         As part of our morning circle time, a hamster puppet named Bumble sings with the children and asks them questions.  Mariposa’s wide smile showed her enjoyment of Bumble, but she continued her silence.  After several days, she would seem about to speak, and then catch herself, remembering she had decided not to talk.

         About two weeks after her arrival, she was sitting at the table with the rest of the group.  Behind my left shoulder, I heard her whisper in Spanish.  I didn’t draw attention to this breakthrough, but I had to smile.  She was beginning to emerge from her chrysalis.

         Over the next few days, Mariposa could be heard making whispered remarks in Spanish to one of the other girls.  She began to smile when we picked her up for ENL time at her classroom door.  She came willingly, with a bounce in her step.

         Snails and turtles  from their shells; butterflies emerge from chrysalises.  These are the obvious analogies for these young English language learners.

         Mariposa’s metamorphosis was signaled by the word “pizza.”  One morning Bumble, the hamster puppet, asked each child, “What is your favorite food?”  I expected to pass over Mariposa as usual, but that morning she answered in an almost inaudible whisper, “Pizza.”

         Later on, we were singing the song about colors.

         What are you wearing, what are you wearing,

         What are you wearing today, today?

         I noticed that Mariposa’s head was bent; she seemed to be staring at her lap.  Then I saw that her lips were moving, forming the English words of the song. 

         At that moment, I felt like a butterfly had unfurled its wings before me for the first time, only it was my heart that was expanding and taking flight.