Bokko Sign Language: A Short Story

In 1948, Frederika, who goes by Fred, watched as yet another teacher flew away from their village. Teachers didn’t last long according to Fred because life was to hard for them or they didn’t like the smell of fish, which is what was on the daily menu. Miss Agnes stepped off the plane and Sam White, the pilot, was confident he had finally found the perfect teacher for the one room schoolhouse located in the cold Alaskan area. Fred wanted to meet the new teacher before school began. Fred and Bertha, her friend, went over to Miss Agnes’ house and she put them to work immediately. They helped her with small chores and then Miss Agnes invited them for tea. During tea, Fred explained that her Mamma was not happy she was in school because she believed she would be better off if she stayed in the home and learned to work. Fred’s daddy had died in an accident so Mamma needed all the

She became very upset when she learned she wasn’t in school because of her disability and Miss Agnes immediately ordered her to come to school. As the days passed, Miss Agnes began teaching Bokko sign language and her alphabet so she would be able to communicate with others. Maria was another student who wasn’t able to come to school because she had to take care of her siblings, so Miss Agnes made it a point to have her come over to her home at night so she could teach her. Miss Agnes always made sure to make her classroom feel like a home. She would read fairy tale books to the students, she allowed them to decorate the room for Christmas, put on a Christmas play, make cookies and cider for their parents, and then take pictures of each of the students to remember their part in the play. When spring came it was time for the children to leave and go to spring camp. According to Fred, this was usually an exciting time; however, this year they knew when they got back Miss Agnes would be gone. She was going back to