Day 10

           Decidedly, I won’t stop stumbling from surprise to surprise. I cannot complain about having had my hair pulled by Fe or Si. What I witnessed today make those assaults seem quite petty. Mu scratched April’s neck. Suddenly. Almost out of nowhere. Mm, actually, that is not the complete truth. I have my belief on the cause of Mu’s outburst.

           Mu arrived thirty eight minutes late this morning. April and I both ran out to open the gate and greet Mu and his mother. While I led Mu inside the house (which I did happily, as I escaped the unmerciful current of wind), April remained a few minutes longer, caught in a conversation. Immediately, I noticed Mu’s restlessness and anxiety, reflected in his even worse than usual constant fidgeting and repeated frustrated grunts of “aaa”s and “eee”s. I was helping Mu through his routine (take off the coat, store lunch in the refrigerator, hang coat and bag in the closet, etc…) when April stormed back in. She stumped into the kitchen, took out Mu’s lunch, and asked me angrily to smell his food and tell her whether I thought it edible. Without expecting an answer, she ranted about Mu’s mother’s criticism that the center was causing Mu to gain weight, a criticism rendered hypocritical considering the size and unhealthy quality of Mu’s packed lunch. My eyes widened when April made a fatal mistake, telling me she thought Mu was too fat and should be put on a diet. Why my nervous astonishment? Mu was standing in the corner, hearing everything. I am not sure whether Mu understood the angered April’s words or not. But I do remember an advice, and personally believe, nothing bad should ever be said about the children in front of them. It is impossible to not whether they are following the contents of the conversation, and there are no reasons to take any risks.

           My impressions were Mu’s behavior worsened following April’s comments on his weight, especially towards her. He would look at me, and smile at me, when I addressed him or gave him instructions. He was more disposed (though still highly uncooperative) to listen to my directions, returning to his seat or standing up when I asked him. But to April, he would seethe like an enraged beast and glare at her every word. April apprehended violence, and confided she remembered Mu’s behavior the same as the time when he had hit her in the past. Her prediction turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ten minutes after work began, Mu scratched April’s neck, leaving burning red marks of his fingernails.

           It was the first time I saw, directly in person, a teacher at Centro “2 de abril” scold a student. (I had heard the director shout at Fr for becoming violent and openly challenging her authority, and kick him out of the room when he threw and broke all the class materials and toys. But I had only heard the sounds coming from a distance.) And April’s anger was not made out. On the contrary, she was genuinely infuriated and hurt, and she did not investigate much effort in hiding her feelings. I was too shocked to react, and had trouble in facing Mu afterwards. But I would not have made much of a difference. April’s hardness and harshness lashed at Mu, for she was determined to make him repent. After all, we cannot afford to reinforce his behavior, and he must comprehend clearly his behavior today was unacceptable. I secretly fear I will be victim of a similar outburst before the end of my internship, because the students are all acquainted to me now and throw their fits now and then, for one reason or another.

           Fe ran into transportation difficulties today as well, and did not come (gratefully for me and April). Instead, we received a hyped-up Ta. Maybe the bad weather, the tempest winds, fueled the children’s agitation and edginess. I found them unusually assertive and disobedient, and I remember I had noted a similar trend on other chaotic-weather days. Ta refused to work. He always distracted himself somehow, stood up for the most minor details, did not follow directions at all and began to whine for the slightest inconvenience. Even rewards, such as pretzels and his favourite toy Igor, did not do the trick in convincing him to follow directions. My goodness! If it were not for my resolve to keep my calm and composure to guard April’s ticked mood, I would maybe have lost my temper as well.

           Oh my goodness! Three hours only, but so many accidents! As if he wanted to further anger April, Mu even had two toilet accidents. The first was a sign of protest when April sent him out in the backyard for a while, to take some fresh air and de-energize himself at least a little. Mu hates going outside, especially when ordered to play with a ball. He decided to demonstrate his distaste by offering a generous puddle in the grass. The second accident was more catastrophic. April and I were working with Ta. Mu had been misbehaving to catch our attention already, standing up and stampeding around the room. April and I must have been successful in ignoring him for him to push the limits. Mu had run off in the backyard (oh why did he learn to unlock the inside clasp of the front door) when April screamed of disgust and indignation. I dashed to see the cause of her reaction and gaped at the sight of an overflowing puddle on the sofa, dripping on the carpet floor. Though I felt sorry for abandoning April, I was greatly thankful my workday ended at noon. There are crazy days sometimes, but I would rather never have such a day again. I was more than happy and relieved to come home!