This is a work of fiction loosely based on my experiences as a student teacher at a Hutterite school. Hutterites are a Christian denomination that has become an ethnic heritage. They live communal lives on colonies, working, eating, and worshiping together. Each colony has its own school, but the schools are part of the public school division.
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Stacy Stubinsky had never been more terrified in all the twenty-two years of her life! As she looked out over the classroom, trying frantically to calm her racing pulse; seventeen pairs of inquisitive eyes gazed back at her. She had to say something, quickly.
“Good morning, students. As you know, my name is Miss Stubinsky, and I will be your teacher for the next three months. Now, why don’t you each tell me your names and we can get to know each other.” That went well, Stacy thought to herself, as five hands went up. “Let’s start with you, the boy with the hat. Oh, and by the way, no hats in school please.”
“My name is William. How come you don’t know our names?” asked the boy with the hat. “We all told you our names yesterday, when you came to visit.”
“Well, there are seventeen of you,” Stacy replied, trying her best to sound professional. “It might take me a little while to remember all of your names. Now, William, please remove your hat and put it on a hook in the cloakroom. Next, how about this little sweetie,” she said to the girl in the first desk of the second grade row, “What’s your name?”
“You’re pretty,” the girl said.
“Why, thank you,” Stacy tried not to stammer. “But what is your name?”
“She’s my sister Mary,” William said as he came back from the cloakroom. “That’s my sister Martha, and those are my brothers John, Martin, and Joseph. My sister Elizabeth is in kindergarten, so she will be here this afternoon. She has to help with the babies while the women are in the kitchen in the mornings.”
“Seven of you, are all brothers and sisters?” Stacy stammered, not able to control her voice this time.
“There’s nine of us.” John spoke up. “Bethie is looking after our two younger sisters.”
“We’re the Hofer family,” Martha, the eldest explained to Stacy. “The other ten kids are the Wurst family.”
“No we’re not!” A third grade boy with a very dirty face and even dirtier hands spoke out. “Only four of us are brothers. The rest are from the other Wurst family. They’re our cousins.”
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