Crisis averted

You might remember the name Rudy from a blog post awhile back--there is a picture of us sharing a moment. It was lucky that I was not privy to this particular near crisis until after it was resolved because I don’t think I could have handled it. Rosmery, Rudy’s mom, is the head baker in the bakery and they have to start work early. She usually brings Rudy with her and then sends him down to the daycare when it opens. Today was no different except when Mabel, the director of the daycare, came up the bakery asking where Rudy was. In Rosmery’s own words, the question “chilled my heart.” The last she had seen Rudy he was headed to the daycare but apparently never arrived. Everyone broke into a frenzy shouting his name in all directions. Rosmery finally decided to check her home. In her own words again, “there he was sitting happily on the bed watching tv.” When she asked him why he was home he replied, “because my stomach hurt and there is no bathroom in the bakery and lots of people were outside; how could I go out there?” His brother, Brandon, goes to school in the afternoon and told Rudy that it was after 8am and therefore too late to go to the daycare so he just decided to stay home.

Last month one of my 9th graders went missing. She, however, wasn’t found within the hour at home with an upset stomach. Her disappearance really shook me because I was naïve enough to believe that my students were somehow protected and sheltered from the temptations and dangers of street life. I fell apart somewhat when she went missing--a downward spiral of worry, regret, self-doubt, and disillusionment. The threat of child disappearance is real and I don’t know how to prevent it. I can teach them computer literacy though. I know it is not enough but I hope that it helps.