BRIAN

The kid is such a pain in the ass. He never raises his hand. He talks all the time -- which makes every other kid think he or she can do the same.

His attention span lasts maybe five minutes and he finds it impossible to sit in his seat. Sometimes he sprawls across the top of his table, and other times I find him squatting on his chair like a Korean woman at her bath.

And when he does sit, he can’t be still long enough to do a lick of work. Like a gnat -- the ”no-see um“ kind we’re always swatting as they buzz around your ear -- only you see him -- smiling, constantly smiling -- as he darts back and forth hither and thither like a whirling dervish with no off button.

Even when I yell at him, he seems so happy! What a kid !! -- what do you do with a kid like this? What do I do with Brian?

He’s been counseled by the counselor, he is a fixture in the vice-principal’s office, and if he were not a poor Hispanic he’d have a diagnosis of ADHD or some other set of initials that would trigger some professional help. As it is, he’s just a little boy who won’t obey the rules.

So the next step is to call his mother. Perhaps together we can figure out a way to help him. As she walked through the door, the smile left Brian’s face, and I immediately regretted asking her to come. This woman was fierce.

Like a trapped animal, looking for an escape route, her eyes took in the classroom, the science displays, the tropical fish, bulletin boards of the children’s work, and all the words she could not read.

There was blood in her eye and I realized she believed this summons was a personal attack on her from an alien world. And my poor Spanish and Brian’s translation did nothing to calm or convince her otherwise, nor could she understand that Brian could not help himself.

The mother barked a command at Brian and instantly he dropped into a semi-squatting position with his arms outstretched and his faced etched with terror. This diminutive woman seemed to grow in stature as she took charge and asserted her power. “When he is bad, you make him squat like this for an hour,” she ordered. This said, she grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out the door after her.

Is this what I do with Brian? I think not.

The next morning he raced into class, big smile back in place.