MADALYNE

by Holly Engel

 

This gifted first grade teacher lost her job at the end of the school year in which this article was written! Are we Americans hopelessly self-destructive?

 

 

It was the middle of the 1992-1993 school year at Prairie View Elementary School when I first saw her. I knew it would be difficult for her to be accepted by her peers. She was very short, about five inches shorter than the others. Her eyes were crossed and her eyebrows were too thin. It was obvious that her dress was old from the several patches. Her nose was so incredible. It was very long, with a wart on the end. She had a horrible profile because of the nose. Her hair was long and stringy. She had freckles, Also, I soon found out that she had eleven toes - six on one foot.

 

When I learned that I was going to get a special needs student, I did the usual things that need to be done to have a new student added. I had a special small desk brought in the room and a tall chair to accompany it. I made out her name tag and wrote her name in my attendance book.

 

The Monday that she arrived was a cold and windy day. Madalyne was the first one there, beating the morning bell by almost ten minutes. I helped her put her supplies away and gave her a crayon so she could start her morning work. But, she did not get far before the bell rang and the other students entered the room.

 

I went to the chalk board and began writing the date and some notes for the students to read. While my back was to the class, I suddenly heard a lot of laughter. I heard someone yell, "Miss Engel, what is she doing here?"

 

I turned to see six or seven children surrounding Madalyne. One was pulling her hair. One was pinching her nose. The rest were laughing and pointing. I was shocked to see this. "What are you doing to Madalyne? You leave her alone! She is a new friend in our class." I was very upset and went to see if Madalyne was all right. The other students sat down and began their morning work, buzzing about the new, odd student.

 

After the Pledge of Allegiance and the National Anthem, I decided it was time to introduce Madalyne formally to the class. She had been stared at and whispered about for long enough.

 

I rang my brass apple bell to get the attention of the class. As I stood behind Madalyne's chair with my hands on her shoulders, the class grew very quiet. The first graders were very still.

 

I cleared my throat. "We have a new friend. This is Madalyne Wimple. She will need a lot of help getting used to our school and classroom. I hope you all will be a good friend to her." I heard a few kids snicker.

 

Over the next months, the class helped Madalyne in many ways. Sometimes she fell out of her chair. A child would carefully pick her up and put her back in the chair. Madalyne would fall asleep in class, too! This stunned the class. Of course, they would look towards me for a reaction. I would calmly ask someone to wake her up. The child did so very gently. The child would give Madalyne her pencil and show her where we were on the page.

 

Madalyne was assimilated into our class easily. The counselors and other teachers would go out of their way to greet Madalyne. Some would even have to explain to wondering visitors that Madalyne "was part of Miss Engel's class."

 

Since we did a lot of cooperative learning and buddy work, Madalyne often was chosen as a buddy. It was both intriguing and touching to see the first graders so hard at work with a buddy that seemingly had so little to offer to the task. After all, she was a "special needs" student and needed a lot of help with even sitting at her desk. But the stories that she and her buddy wrote would bring tears to my eyes.

 

When a child chose Madalyne to partner work, that child felt free to be creative, be different from the way the class viewed him/her. The class clown became a serious adventure writer with Madalyne's help. The shy, quiet child was able to read her and Madalyne's story in front of an audience with Madalyne's help. A boy who was hyperactive became subdued, somber and physically still while working with Madalyne.

 

Difficult times at home often plague any classroom in this day and age. Some children act disrespectful, rude, and have deviant behavior as a result of this. Some young children be-come painfully shy and quiet. The children do not understand the fighting, financial problems, divorce, and even drug, alcohol and physical abuse that may plague an unstable home. To live in and deal with this is an awful lot to ask a child of six or seven. Kids know that things are not calm at home. They know it does not feel good and safe at home. But to verbally express these thoughts and feelings is almost an impossible thing.

 

I was surprised at the times when Madalyne would be dearest to a child. The neediest, most stressed child would often read to Madalyne, buddy work with her, help her to our special class, and make sure she was sitting up straight in her chair. As I walked around the classroom to check on-task behavior and progress on a project, I noticed that the upset child would be holding Madalyne's hand. Some would even carry Madalyne to my desk and softly say, "Madalyne is sad. She is worried that her parents are going to get a divorce." Or a child would tell me that Madalyne is tired because she had to dance last night from 7:00 to 10:00. Madalyne would also feel sad that her mom was going out of town on business.

 

Madalyne also had physical needs. She would need to go to the bathroom, according to her helper. Sometimes her shoes were too small and she would need to take them off. Sometimes she might just need a big hug from me, along with her friend.

 

It was surprising to me that the children used Madalyne as a voice to express the hurtful and scary parts of their lives. At one time or another, each child in my class expressed their feelings through Madalyne. Without embarrassment, children told me of Madalyne's weekend fights with her brother and sister and how she hates her daycare center.

 

I felt extremely lucky that my small class had the ability to express the hurt they felt. Many people who had a difficult childhood grow up to be difficult adults. Usually, adults with problems need a doctor to help them sift back through the past in order to remember and express hard times when they were very young.

 

I think my class, with Madalyne's help, will be healthier and happier as they grow. They were able to use Madalyne's "tough times at home" to cleanse themselves of the guilt, fear, and pain associated with growing up in the midst of an unstable home, and an ever-changing world.

 

One day, during her first week at school, Madalyne was extremely late. We were all very concerned. Was she lost? Was she sick? Did anyone see her in the cafeteria getting breakfast? The class was so concerned that I promised I would call Mrs. Wimple at recess to solve the mystery.

 

The students were so concerned about Madalyne that the first lesson was not a big success. Everyone stared at the door and at Madalyne's seat. I was working along through my lesson plan about Clifford, the Big Red Dog, when there was a knock on the door. All of the boys' and girls' eyes widened with excitement. The door slowly opened. In came Madalyne and Mrs. McKee, our neighbor across the hall.

 

"Madalyne! Where have you been?" asked one student. Another student ran over to help Madalyne to her seat. Expressions of great relief were written across every small face in my class.

 

Mrs. McKee explained that Madalyne had gotten lost and one of her students helped Madalyne back to the classroom.

 

I asked the kids to describe how Madalyne looks. At first, they did not want to talk about it. I gently prodded. "What about her dress?" I asked.

 

"It is a pretty color of purple," answered a student.

 

"What about her nose?" I asked. The room was silent. "Do you like her hair? Would anyone in here want to have Madalyne's hair?" Several kids squirmed. No one made eye contact with me.

 

I tried again at a different angle. "Now really, is she that pretty? Personally, I think her feet are too big." I wrote my idea about Madalyne on the chart paper I had on the chalk board. I solicited new ideas.

 

"Well, her nose is kind of big. But that makes it easier to smell things with," came the first reply.

 

"Her eyes are crossed, but I think that glasses would fix that."

"Her dress has patches, but it is a pretty color."

 

Many hands were in the air now. The boys and girls gave words or sentences to describe Madalyne's physical appearance. Curiously, each item about her ugly physique was defended.

 

Soon our chart was full. I asked the kids why it was so hard to fill the chart paper. They explained to me that Madalyne was a good friend, she liked to be read to, she smiles all the time, and she is nice. One by one came the exact responses I had desired: descriptions of Madalyne's personality and character that made her so lovable.

 

In closing the lesson, I explained that in life, there are many people that may look odd or different. There are many people who have various beliefs and ways of life. I instructed the children to remember Madalyne when they meet these people. Think about how ugly Madalyne was on the outside, and how wonderful she is on the inside.

 

Madalyne was invited back into the room, and we proceeded with our day. Madalyne was more popular than ever. There was no fear of peer pressure or teasing that often follows an oddball student. The rest of the school unfortunately did not know Madalyne. They did not know how sweet she was and what a wonderful friend she was.

 

The students in my class would have to endure a lot of teasing, laughing, hurtful comments about Madalyne. She was ugly, funny-looking, dirty, poor. But my students were very strong, and they stood up to the big kids who laughed and pointed. My kids would hug Madalyne tighter to their chest. Some even plugged her ears as rude comments were thrown our direction.

 

You see, Madalyne was not only a very special student with a lot of needs, she was a doll. A doll that I had specially made for a lesson on "don't judge a book by its cover." This lesson grew and bloomed into an incredible five months. I learned about how children think and act. The students learned about vicious bullies.

 

We all learned about what love really is. For the love we had for Madalyne was so strong, it inspired us all. Madalyne was definitely the most popular girl in the class.

 

This is to pass on some of that love. This is the story of Madalyne, the most popular girl in the class.

 

Thus, the time had come for some lessons that could not be learned from a book. These lessons were on life, friends, honesty, trust, and right versus wrong.

 

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