Thread by @BelleResist

Today is a very bittersweet day for me and my co-teachers. It's the last day of school, and it's time to say goodbye. We have a mixed age classroom, ages 2.5 to 5, so not everyone will be leaving - but some are moving on to kindergarten. 1/

One of these children entered my classroom at age 2.5 and he has been with me for three years. I ran into him and his family at a local amusement park this weekend, where he was celebrating his birthday. Today is his last day in my classroom. He has spent half his life here. 2/

Many of our younger children will be returning in the fall, but not all. Not all of the parents know for sure whether their child will be returning yet. For some, it could be the last time I ever see them, and I won't know it. 3/

I have spent this school year watching children learn to talk, express themselves, make friends, ride tricycles, climb the monkey bars, home a pencil correctly and write their name. I've watched them scream with delight at seeing wild turkeys and comfort friends who are sad. 4/

I've watched them build block structures taller than they are, have a dance party, stare in awe and wonder as a caterpillar turns into a chrysalis and then a butterfly, splash around in the water pump, and giggle while chasing bubbles. 5/

I've had children run to greet me with a hug when I arrive in the morning, and I've had children scream and sob when I tell them they can't hit others with blocks or climb on the bathroom stalls. I've had them wail and sulk when I patiently insist they clean up their mess. 6/

I've had children fall asleep snuggled in my lap at rest time. I've comforted them when they bump their heads and given them Band-Aids for their cuts and scrapes. I've even called parents to take their child to the doctor when they showed signs of concussion. 7/

I calmed the children when we discovered a huge snake next to the door as we went outside to play. I've changed countless dirty diapers. I've served breakfast, lunch, and snack. I may not be their family, but in many ways they are my children, even if I'm just borrowing them. 8/

Now... Imagine if these children were immigrants.

More later. 9/

We don't have many minorities in my classroom this year, but we have in the past. I couldn't tell you which might be immigrants, and which if any might be undocumented. It wouldn't change the fact that they are just as much a part of our school family as anyone. 10/

These children mean so much to me, and they're only with me for a part of their day, sometimes only a short part of their week, and may only be with us for a term, or as long as three years. And yet saying good bye can be SO hard. So I imagine what it must be like... 11/

...to be a mother having to say goodbye to my child. To say goodbye not knowing when, or even IF I might see them again. Or to not even get the CHANCE to say goodbye - being told they're leaving to bathe and will be right back, but then they are just...gone. It's awful. 12/

And what kind of care do these children receive in government custody? Who soothes them as they bandage up their cuts and scrapes? Who rocks them to sleep? Who sings silly songs with them and makes them laugh? Who teaches them how to ask a new child to play? 13/

My students have tricycles, dress up clothes, Legos, marble works, water tables, a music center, a fairy forest with woodland animals real, good-smelling laurel branches, puppets, wooden blocks, easels and paint, sandboxes, and more. What do migrant children have? 14/

How much outside time do migrant children get? Ours spend several hours a day outside. This is our play yard. We have a covered sandbox, a boulder-lined water feature with a water pump, tricycles and scooters... 15/

Plenty of grass for running and a small hill to roll down, a mud kitchen with a faucet and water table, sidewalk chalk... 16/

A gazebo for dramatic play, a play house with a climbing wall, a wide variety of plants to explore. Do the migrant children get anything besides concrete? What toys are they given to play with? Do they get any adult attention? Do they get enough to eat? 17/

What must they think when they look at that mural of Trump's face glowering down at them? Do their educational hours learning about "democracy" successfully instill any patriotism in them, or do they hate this nation for imprisoning them and taking away their parents? 18/

Do these children have any reason, any at all, to believe that anyone cares what happens to them? That they matter to any of us who were born here? Do they know they are loved? Is there anyone there to love them?
19/End.

I would much appreciate it if you would pass this thread along.
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