Isa slumped over the desk, working on her handwriting assignment.  I was helping in the first grade classroom, checking got make sure their exercises were done neatly and correctly.  Isa was behind and her work was poorly done.  "Do it again," the teacher said.  "You need to erase it and do it again."  Isa took out her well-used eraser.  I glance over and noticed that the pencil she was using was very short, and held together with a piece of masking tape.  Her fingers barely fit on its surface, making writing difficult for her first-grade awkwardness.

"¿Tiene un otro lapiz? I asked.  "Do you have another pencil?"  She hung her head.  "No tengo," she answered.  Without thinking, I reached in my purse and handed her a brand new sharpened pencil, with a functional eraser.  "Use this," I said.  Her reaction caught me completely off guard.  A broad smile crossed her face.  Then she jumped up from her desk and gave me a hug.  She turned back to her desk to begin working again, cradling the pencil in both hands, as though carrying a precious treasure.