Allen Rosales

Jorge Learns to be Resilient Allen Rosales

In Jorge Learns to Be Resilient, Jorge walks to school with his mother and little brother past some vibrant scenaries. He feels happy when he arrives at school and says "buenos días" to his teacher and gives her a special tamale from his neighborhood's tamale stand. But when his classmates make fun of him for using translanguaging words, Jorge is embarrassed and remains silent for the rest of the day. His feelings are hurt. When he talks about his sadness with his teacher, he decides to create drawings that show his feelings. He shares them with his classmates, telling them that he is smart because he knows two languages. When his friends want to learn, too, Jorge feels happy and proud when he teaches them how to sing in Spanish. Facing his emotions helped Jorge's friends accept and appreciate his cultural heritage, and it helped him develop the resilience skills needed to be successful.