One Teacher, Many Lives
by Sam Wong
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to another classroom. It’s another teacher for the same n a local elementary school grade level. The teacher at the classroom, students sit and chatter excitedly as the teacher door says, “Sorry to interrupt, is handing out the next assign- Mrs. O’Brien,” as she looks to the teacher at the desk. “Would ment. One student stands out you mind holding onto this one amongst them. He’s the only for a few minutes? I just need one not sitting in his chair; him away from my students.” the child is instead aimlessly Mrs. O’Brien looks to her and wandering the classroom and with a smile, “Sure, I’ll keep an swinging between the tables by holding himself up with his eye on him.” After sitting him hands on the tables. The teach- down in a timeout desk in the er asks him to stop, and he does corner for a few minutes she not. Again she prompts the stu- goes to the little boy at the time out desk. “Do you know why dent, and he finally sits down. She turns around and not more you’re here, Sam?” she asks. than a minute later the boy is right back to it. She says “come t’s been over a decade since with me” and walks him down then. These days, Mrs. O’Brien
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is working in a very different setting. Barbara O’Brien’s started her career as a second grade teacher at Landels Elementary School in Mountain View, CA. It was there that she first saw students struggling for their disadvantages, which many of them couldn’t really help. Some had learning disabilities while others simply did not come from English speaking families. She saw the benefit of programs like Title I because Landels was a Title I school. The funds from Title I helped to pay for extra second language learning services like reading and math intervention tutors. Those tutors were certified as sub-