Lost In Translation

Yesterday we talked one of the girls I work with to answer a math question in class. It was a breakthrough for everybody. I am now convinced she will survive the Jefferson Middle School.

I was thinking, as I was sitting with them in class, translating the words they don't know, about how much I don't actually translate. This was provoked by a class discussion of the reasons why air planes don't work in space.(No air in space, led to a discussion of nothing.) It is difficult to explain what "nothing" means in English, let alone in a foreign language. This made me think, do I even know what nothing is? It's funny, because while I am thinking all this, I wonder what the girls are thinking, that they aren't saying. Or what *Korean girl whose name I can't spell* is ever thinking at all, since no one in the whole building understands her.

Non-verbal communication is so critical with her. Working with kids that don't know English, really gets you to think about creative methods of getting your point across. Lots of pointing. (and smiling is always nice).Drawing pictures.