After four months in first grade, a

After four months in first grade, an
incident occurred that Lupe still does
not fully understand. As she stood in the
doorway of the classroom waiting to
escort a little girl to the bathroom, a man
approached her. He asked her, in Spanish,
how to find the principal’s office. Lupe
was delighted. “Finally someone in this
school had spoken to me with words I
could understand, in the language of my
soul, the language of my grandmother,”
she said. Eagerly, she answered his
question in Spanish. Instantly her teacher
swooped down on her, grabbing her
arm and scolding her. She pulled Lupe
along to the principal’s office. There, the
teacher and the principal both shouted
at her, obviously very angry. Lupe was
frightened and embarrassed, but also
bewildered. She didn’t understand a
word they were saying.