Goodbyes

Today, my bilingual coworker, Mr. P, lost a student to a non-bilingual class down the hall. Just after the little girl changed classrooms, I taught Mr. P's students English math. All of the little girls were sobbing and wiping their eyes as they walked into my classroom. The overall mood was hectic, and I worked several minutes to settle them all down. When the students had finally quieted, the little girl appeared in the doorway to say "hi" to her old classmates. I shooed her off after a few minutes, and fierce sobs broke out again from the girls. "She's just next door," I tried to console. But to no avail. I suppose goodbyes are just hard, regardless of the distance.