I Wish You Knew
by Jackie Azúa Kramer
illustrated by Magdalena Mora
illustrated by Magdalena Mora
Category
📚
LearningTranscript
00:00To all our loved ones near and far, a todos nuestros seres queridos cercanos y lejanos,
00:18Jack.
00:19To immigrant parents and the families that miss them, a los padres immigrants y los familias
00:23que los extrañan, mm.
00:26I wish you knew, written by Jackia Azua Kramer, illustrated by Magdalena Mora.
00:56Our school wraps around a hundred-year-old oak tree.
01:17Through shady branches we watch summer leaves change in the autumn wind and drop into crunchy
01:22piles.
01:23My favorite place is the school garden.
01:25And between leafy cabbages and tomatoes.
01:28My father helped our class plant rows of sunflower seeds.
01:32One day, he told me that because he wasn't born here like me, he must return to his native
01:36country.
01:37He wrapped his arms around me.
01:39Te quiero mucho Estrella my little star.
01:42I'll be back one day to see the sunflowers bloom.
01:45I love to skip between the tall stalks of yellow rade petals and think of his smile.
01:49I wish you knew that when I forget my homework or sit alone at lunch or cry over little things,
01:55it's because I miss him.
01:56I wish you knew that since my father left, my mother works a lot.
02:00And my little brother has bad dreams.
02:03I wish everyone knew how much I miss him.
02:05Our school wraps around a hundred-year-old oak tree.
02:08As a teacher, my favorite place is our busy and curious classroom.
02:12I love to watch my students play in our noisy playground with its soft patch of sand.
02:17I wish they knew that when they forget their homework or sit alone at lunch or cry over
02:22little things, they are not alone.
02:24Our school wraps around a hundred-year-old oak tree.
02:27My classmates and my new favorite place is our classes' sharing circle called I Wish
02:31You Knew.
02:32We write down things that have happened and feelings we wish others knew on a piece of
02:36paper.
02:37They're secret.
02:38But they don't have to be if you're ready to share.
02:40I wish you knew.
02:41I wish you knew I'm here to help.
02:43I wish you knew that I'm hungry a lot.
02:45I wish you knew that my mom's away in the military.
02:48I wish you knew I live in a shelter.
02:50I wish you knew I miss my father.
02:52But now in our sharing circle, I love to share cool ball tricks he taught me or dances
02:57he learned as a boy or songs we sang together.
03:00I wish you knew that we'll be together soon.
03:02Till then, my friends and teacher help me plant sunflower seeds and we wait for them
03:07to bloom.
03:08Author's note.
03:09My father arrived in New York City in 1952.
03:13Like many immigrants, he emigrated from Manta, Ecuador to better himself and his life.
03:18The immigration process wasn't easy.
03:20There was much paperwork and many questions about his good moral standing education and
03:24family as he applied for naturalization in the United States all before he even left
03:29Ecuador.
03:30As much as my father was thrilled to come to the U.S., he was also intimidated.
03:35First he needed to find places to live and work.
03:38Soon he filed an oath to a count clerk a declaration of intention to become a citizen.
03:43He needed to renounce all allegiances to his native country to reside in the U.S. permanently.
03:48After two years, he petitioned the court for citizenship presenting two witnesses who could
03:53speak to his good moral character as well as proof of a stable job and residence.
03:57There were exams and finally a hearing before a judge who could deny his citizenship for
04:02any reason they saw fit.
04:03In the meantime, it was under these circumstances that my father met my mother and they were
04:08married.
04:09My mother came from Puerto Rico so she was a U.S. citizen.
04:12They were deeply in love like any newlyweds and my father feared being deported before
04:17he could finally take an oath to the U.S. Constitution and receive a certificate of
04:21citizenship.
04:22As the child of an immigrant, I spoke only Spanish when I entered school.
04:27I grew up in a white community and at school, kids snickered at my lunch of rice and frijoles.
04:32However, I thrived socially and academically partly because of what my father would remind
04:37my family.
04:38Be a good example in this country of your family's culture and history.
04:42Never forget that I never have.
04:44However, today many children are not thriving in school.
04:48Students deal with deportation, poverty, homelessness, divorce, hunger, and loss problems that create
04:54an impossible climate for children to learn.
04:57Across the U.S., educators have realized that students who feel sad, hungry, scared, and
05:01angry have a harder time learning and this need to create a community of meaningful classroom
05:06relationships has powered the social media movement.
05:09I wish my teacher knew.
05:11The end.