学进去

When I first met Begay at Los Ninos Elementary on “King and Queen Day”, she was wearing a smile ear-to-ear.

This morning, though, Begay was______. The parent she had been trying to_____was a no-show again. Begay______needed to talk to her. Her boy was smart, but now about a year behind. She______there were problems at home. He was always late and had already missed too much school.

By 8 a.m. , kids were arriving, and Begay’s______quickly became a beehive（蜂窝）of activity. Forty-five minutes_______, the little boy finally walked in, shoulders sunk, head_______. Rather than______him in front of the class, Begay welcomed him warmly. He was testing Begay’s long-held_______that no child is a lost cause, no matter how______he seems. “It’s the unspoken       _____teachers start out with,” Begay said.

During lunch I sat down with Begay’s students and asked them what they liked about her.

“ She never gets angry, “ said one girl. A boy______:” She’s funny and likes telling jokes.”

Before we left the______, the shy, quiet girl next to me______,” She teaches me when I don’t want to learn.”

Her_______stayed with me. When I_______it with Begay, I told her that I felt it was a very       _____thing for a child to say. She agreed.

“They never______that to me.” said Begay, “But that’s what I_______. I want them to enjoy school. I want them to feel like someone_______them.”