OHANA

 Ohana is a word I remembered yesterday when visiting with my family…

Ohana is something one of my students…long ago..said to me.

She was a beautiful young lady…Jenny was her name and once she entered my classroom I never taught the same.

Nor did I view the world the same as I had the day before…once Jenny and her innocence walked in through my door.

There is a little bit of mystery in teaching…any teacher knows this to be true…and when it comes to teaching students with Autism…multiply that mystery…by two.

Jenny had an obstinate streak…every now and then she’d get angry and she’d shout…my solution was to move her to a desk in the corner of the room…to give us both a little time out.

I remember trying to ignore her one day…but she was crying and when her eyes met mine…she said, “Mr. Yerman Ohana means family…and family means no one gets left behind.”

And I wondered was it just a line from Lilo and Stitch…a movie she watched a lot in those days…or was Jenny trying to tell me to find another way…

Was she saying find another way to help me through my anger…another way to teach me…was she saying time out is not working…find another way to reach me.

Eventually we reached a compromise…when I saw her getting angry…when I saw her losing her way…I’d whisper, “Jenny, do you need a little time out…or would you like to stay?”

Of course it wasn’t a perfect solution…there were still days when she cried…but things ran a little smoother when I let Jenny help decide.

So now when my family comes together I think of Jenny…and Ohana comes to mind…because as Jenny said, Ohana means family…and family means no-one gets left behind…

And these days when it is difficult for our entire family to get together…

instead of feeling rotten…

I remember Jenny and rest of Ohana’s meaning…

family means…nobody gets forgotten.