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The first day of school for the Peace Landing township school arrived. Annie woke up feeling as if a colony of butterflies had set up residence in her stomach. She forced breakfast down, knowing lunch was several hours away. Checking on the lesson plans she’d written out, she took the lunch she had made the night before and bade her mother goodbye.
“I will see you after school and tell you how it went,” she told her mother.
“You’ll do a wonderful job, Annie. You know what you’re doing and your students will only benefit from having you as their teacher,” Mrs. Fisher said with a wide smile. “Just don’t let them get away with anything, especially the two Kurtz boys. Be firm above all, and remember the rules the school board has set up.
“Ya, I will,” Annie promised breathlessly. Hurrying to the barn, she found her father had already gotten the buggy hooked up to their horse. He smiled at her proudly as she tossed her things in on the seat.
“You’ll do a beautiful job, Annie. Your mother taught you well and you learned everything you needed while you were on your rumspringe,” said her father.
“Denki, daed,” said Annie. She gave him a quick hug and boarded the buggy. At the school, she guided her horse into the small barn attached to the school and gave him food and water. Hurrying to the front of the school, she unlocked the door and put her lunch bucket away. Walking around the large room, she made sure she had everything she and her students would need. Turning with a wide smile, she began welcoming her students in. As they sat down, she introduced herself to them.
“Good morning, I am your new teacher, Miss Fisher. I have taken over from Mrs. Fisher, who decided it is time for her to stay at home now,” she told them. “I know what grade each of you is in, and I’ve looked at examples of your past work. That tells me what you need to work on and what you already know. For now, let’s begin with older students. Please write an essay about how you spent your summer and whether you accomplished everything you planned. Use proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, please. Younger students, I will be working with you on letters and numbers. Intermediate students, please work on this math worksheet. Show your work and I will figure out where you need additional instruction.
Annie spent much of her day in this way, instructing each age group of her students and giving the other age groups independent work. At lunch time, she and all the students were outside, eating and playing. Annie remembered how the Kurtz children had been traumatized by the mental breakdowns of their mother and oldest sister, Barbara, the previous school year. She spent most of her time supervising both Kurtz boys and encouraging painfully shy Sarah to speak out in class.
She’s at the age where their breakdowns caused her some significant embarrassment, so, if she doesn’t know the answer, move onto another student – but always encourage her to speak out and participate. I can see the anger in the boys. I will talk to Amanda about working with them in therapy, but before I do that, I need to let Mr. Kopp know what I have found.
At the end of the day, she saw her students off, many being picked up by parents and older siblings. Once the last student had left, she collected her belongings and locked the school securely and went to Mr. Kopp’s farm.
“Mr. Kopp, I spent much of today with the Kurtz children. The two boys are still noticeably angry and they tried to take it out on smaller students. Sarah is still extremely shy; she’s at the age where the events in her family have caused her extreme embarrassment. You asked me to let you know if I thought any special intervention would be necessary. It is. I know an Englisher counselor – Amanda Williams. I have maintained a relationship with her and she has always told me that, if I needed any professional assistance, to let her know. I would like to have her work with the Kurtz children. To protect their privacy, this work can take place at their house. Amanda is very careful about protecting the privacy of her clients and it would be no different with the Kurtz children. I would need something in writing to call her and talk to her, if you and the board could help me with that.”
“Ya, I was wondering what you would find. What did you do with the boys when they tried to take their anger out on other students?” asked Mr. Kopp.
“I directed them to stop and told them it was not right to try and harm others,” said Annie.
“Good. I will have that letter for you before Friday, with all of our signatures. With this, you can contact Miss Williams – and, yes, having her work with them at their father’s farm is an excellent idea.”
“Denki, Mr. Kopp. I will stop by later for that letter . . .”
“Or I can take it to you or drop it with your daed.”
“Ya, denki.”
On Thursday afternoon, Annie came home and saw Mr. Kopp waiting for her.
“Here is the letter. We just ask that the counseling stay confidential and that it be as time limited as possible,” said Mr. Kopp.
“I will. I’ll call Amanda and set up the first appointment – at the Kurtz farm,” Annie promised.
“Good. You are doing a good job, from what I hear! Keep up the good work!”
Annie smiled gratefully. “Denki. I have had some excellent guidance from mamm,” she said. After Mr. Kopp left, Annie helped her mother with meal preparation for dinner. After the kitchen had been cleaned, Annie spread her books out and worked on lesson plans for her students. By the time she finished, she was yawning hugely and more than ready for bed. Putting her things away, she trudged upstairs and took a shower, then tumbled into bed.