The Brothers Escoja

With first through ninth grades coming into my computer lab on a weekly basis in a barrio where the average number of kids per house is about five it makes sense that I have many sets of siblings. In fact, it is the exception, not the rule, when I have a student and none of his/her siblings. That being said there is a particular set of brothers that brighten my life. After over one year of computer classes I have only four students, out of literally hundreds, with perfect attendance and two of them are Sergio in seventh grade and Humberto in eighth. They are both very shy and quiet so I hadn’t really noticed their consistency until a few months ago.
Sergio really came out of his shell when he joined the blog group. He does a great job and has a lot more confidence. He is leading the blog group with entries written and has even taken charge of the seventh grade computer class. He is leading the class in stickers whereas last semester, even though he knew the material, he was too shy to volunteer and answer questions.
Recently his brother Humberto also joined the blog group and watching their interaction makes me happy in my heart. Humberto is still very guarded and unsure of himself but I am hopeful that he’ll make the same progress as Sergio. Most recently I was helping Humberto with his entry and Sergio was guffawing from across the room. For example:
Me: Humberto what do you like to eat?
Sergio: EVERYTHING!!
Me: “I do not like to fight” (reading his entry)
Sergio: HA!! Since when?!
Me: Sergio, you better watch it or I’ll read Humberto your entries
Sergio: Oop! I’m shutting up
It is great when I can see kids being kids. They live a very different life from my childhood but they are in some ways exactly the same. Girls skip, boys play marbles, girls hit boys they like on the playground, and boys tease girls they like in front of their friends. It is comforting to know that there is joy in their lives which gives me hope for their futures. However, watching the brothers Escoja, more than anything, makes me miss my own sisters. Katie and Tess - I love you both so much <3 10 weeks