Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Heartbreak

Being a teacher sometimes means heartbreak. I am in the middle of my second year as a High School teacher. One of my students, a 17 year old girl who is a senior, was also one of my students last year. She is an A student, and works hard. She has a sweet disposition, and is one of my favorite students. The only family that the girl has is her mother, so she confided a lot of secrets to my girlfriend and me. She came to us for advice all of the time.


This morning, the girl woke up to a knock at the door. It was the police. They were there to tell her that her mother, the only family that she has, was killed the night before in a car accident while on the way home from work. This girl is a ward of the state, has no one, and doesn't know what to do with her life. She and some of her friends just left my house, and I am heartbroken for her. She has nowhere to turn, and no family to help her.

I don't know what else to say. What do you say to a 17 year old girl who just lost all of the family that she has in her life? Her first question for us was, "Will I still be able to stay in this school and graduate in June?"

Her entire life is in turmoil. She missed school today, and when she came over she tried to turn in her homework. Tomorrow, I am going to see about setting up a fund at the school for donations.

2 comments:

Mark J said...

If you manage to set it up, I'll be among the first to donate. It won't be much but every bit helps.

Anonymous said...

Ditto.
Storyteller