It very well may be one of the hardest things having to tell someone that you can't help their kid anymore. It isn't against them personally, as hypocritical as that may seem, but rather a safety issue. That you can't have someone who's a physical threat in your classroom. 


You want to say it's out of your hands, that you tried your hardest, that you're torn between helping them with what they need and teaching them that there are serious consequences for serious actions in life. Not just when you're 6, but always. But your Spanish doesn't reach that far, and you yourself are trying hard not to cry when the words hit and you see tears in mother's eyes. Her son at your sweater tail, pulling hard, begging for a second chance. 


It's minimal to say you feel defeated. This is what you're here for, after all isn't it? To teach them! Not just about words and how to string them along or say them right. To teach them how to be kind, polite, to line up quietly and eat their snack without making a mess. 


To assimilate. 


So what do I say to the ones who color outside the lines? Who still draw themselves without faces or arms and legs? Who give up on themselves, tell themselves they're stupid because that's all they can do? 


How do I begin to justify the mistakes I might not be able to fix?