Guatemalan Journey: Life at New Life--Recognizing Ronald

One of the challenges we have faced at New Life is how to best serve our students who are the most academically challenged. Ronald, fourteen years old and very self-conscious and insecure, is a young man who really needed something different.

While he was always a cooperative studnent,
for most of the time I have known Ronald,
he has been very timid.
It was a challenge to get him to smile,
even for a picture.

Ronald had an illness when he was three (some say encephalitis, some a stoke) which left him both deaf and blind. Somewhere around the age of 8, Ronald was miraculously healed, and now sees, hears, and speaks. He has had great difficulty learning to read and do math, but he has one of the sweetest spirits and one of the kindest hearts of anyone I've ever met.

Recently his mother reported that he did not want to continue coming to school. He was self-conscious of how far he was behind academically, and apparently some of his classmates had been teasing him. (Believe me, this is being addressed!) His parents, unlike many in Santa Maria, really want him to continue in school; to at least learn to read and do simple math. This broke my heart, since in the last six months I have seen Ronald turn a corner and begin to "get it" when it comes to reading and math.

After meeting with Seño Marisol, our principal, and his mom, we came up with a unique plan. Mondays and Fridays he is with his grade level class. These are days when activities, such as devotions and "special classes" are held. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, he spends in my room. This gives me a chance to work intensively with him on his skills, but also gives him a chance to serve as an "assistant" to help some of the younger children.

Josef, our little guy who is partially sighted, is "Ronald's student." Ronald supervises him as he does independent tasks, learning basic skills such as staying in his seat, starting, continuing and finishing a task, and following directions. Josef can be quite a handful at times. Ronald shows infinite patience with Josef, even when he has to implement the simple consequence of "heads down" when Josef is uncooperative. Ronald does this with gentleness but firmness I've seen in few professional teachers. What a gift he is to us!

We are discovering Ronald his many life skills
which will serve himwell in his future.
Here he is helping to assemble my new desk chair.

I met his mother in the street the other day. She says Ronald is now excited to come to school and often brags about helping with younger kids. (When she said she didn't believe this, he said, "Go ask Seño Paty--she'll tell you. She needs my help!") They have noticed that he now is beginning to read a bit more and is happier. I am grateful to see him growing in self-confidence and self-respect. I am happy to see him recognizing and using his God given talents in serving others. This will impact his future more than any academic skill.

Proudly sitting on the chair he helped put together!

I am so grateful that Nueva Vida is a very special school which allows us to adapt to meet the very special needs of each individual student. I am honored to be a part of it!