Her Last Tardy

                                                

A "Dead Head" Butterfly

Its Exoskeleton is on the Outside of its Body

Turkmenistan   2009

Deuteronomy 15:11 NIV

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land."

  

You just don't understand, Ms. Durham. I was late because of the flies!

The flies?

Yes, ma'am. They were everywhere, and I just couldn't leave the house for school.

Ok, slow down. Start over. I just don't follow this at all.

The senior was dangerously close to failing my 12th grade English class based on her tardiness and absences. She had already been moved from a more rigid teacher's class into mine because Guidance and Administration knew I would work with her, but guidelines had been set in place for her. I was her last hope for graduation.

I hadn't seen much improvement on her part since she’d started with me, and if she wasn't willing to make an effort to help herself, then why should I help her? 

Now I was trying to figure out what flies had to do with her most recent tardy.

Ms. Durham. It started with the dead dog.

The dead dog?

Yes'm.  The dog was dead in front of my window.

I’m slow to catch on. I have no life experience to piece this together, so I force her to reveal her life's secrets to me.

It was hot out all night and this morning, and the dog had been dead for a long time. The flies had been around him for awhile. I live on the ground floor. I don't have a screen in my front window, so the flies started to come into my apartment.  I called the city workers to come move the dog, and I had to wait for someone to get there.

Also, my mamma was late getting off her shift last night, and I couldn't leave my baby until she got home to watch her because someone had to keep the flies off her.

By now I had a clear picture of not only my student's morning, but of her major challenges in life.  I didn't hold her accountable to the guidelines she had entered my classroom on. Instead, I worked with her to make up missing work. She was bright but happened to live in extreme poverty.

I don't know where she is now, but I will always remember her story.

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Lord, I know the poor will always be around me, so let me help the ones I can.