A Little Nudge by Nahee KimThere is a child in my class. He is the smallest boy and the least attentive, too. He is always doing his own thing instead of paying attention to the teacher and never raises his hands or participates in spelling games they play. I found out that he was abused by his own parents and was adopted just last year! But he's got the most beautiful smile! He always smiles at me when he sees me and it makes me smile, too. Behind the smile was hidden his pain and lack of self-esteem.
But today, for some reason, the teacher called on him to read a book out loud just as I was leaving work. I turned around as I was turning the doorknob and saw him putting his head down on the desk and pretending to sleep while other children kept urging him to read. I couldn't just leave. So I walked to his desk and bending on my knees, whispered in his ears, "You can do it. Let's read together."
He put his head up and smiled at me. I said the first word in the passage for him, pointing to the word with my finger, and he repeated after me. I would wait for him to read the next word on his own and if he couldn't then I said the word and he repeated after me.
It was surprising that he knew how to say many of the words on his own, because I thought he couldn't read at all. He could actually read more than a few other children in the class I worked with individually. He just needed a little push, a little encouragement.
After he read the whole paragraph, the children clapped and cheered. And I left the classroom quietly as he was being applauded. It was one of the greatest moments in my life. It was he who read it, not I. I couldn't make him open his mouth. It was because he decided to speak up. But I still felt great to have given him a little nudge. And that is all he needed
Like "Another Teacher" Carrolyn Jannace
These past few weeks have been very productive in my classroom at Ray. In math, we have been learning about different polygons, lines of symmetry, and basic geometric vocabulary. This has been a very good unit for me especially because the teacher uses a lot of visual objects (wooden squares, parallelograms, triangles, etc.) for hands-on learning purposes. As a result, I have been very useful, both to the teacher and the kids, helping figure out symmetrical designs and such. For me, it has been helpful because I work closely with all the children in the teacher's math class now, not just a select few. I am learning names and personalities, the kids are becoming more familiar with me, and are eager to ask me for help or to ask me questions. In language arts, we wrote our first real essays of the year, and like last year, I was very involved with the process. The kids treat me like "another teacher" when they are trying to work out the organization of paragraphs and find examples from the book. They love feedback and I try to guide them in the right direction, without telling them exactly what to write. Sometimes that is difficult, but since last year's class wrote six or seven essays, I have a pretty good sense of what is too much of a "hint" and what works to keep the kids on track.
"...it's never been just about reading. By Shauna Prewitt
This is Shauna Prewitt from Revere. The students are currently prepping for an exam that will determine (among other things) whether or not they will be able to advance to the next grade level next year. To that end, I've been working diligently on testing the kids to see how many words they can or cannot read. Brianna, the girl I wrote about last week, is still having difficulties; however, I think we're progressing. It's difficult but rewarding. I want to take this opportunity to tell you that I feel my role within the classroom is an important one. My partner-teacher has shared with me her excitement at seeing the kids eagerness for reading with me; it most certainly makes me feel good to see how happy they are when I enter the room.
My most recent concern revolves around a child named Christopher. Last Friday, Christopher told all the students he would not be returning to school. When questioned, he revealed that this was because he planned on killing himself over the weekend--his mounting frustration at life and feelings of hopeless seemed to have been the cause for such a statement, as he later revealed. Thankfully, he did not do it. It's very difficult for me, Mr. Richardson. When I took this job, I thought I was only going to teach kids how to read. A little over a month into the job, and I realize that it's never been just about reading.
My position in that classroom, depending on the child, is as a tutor, a teacher, a mentor, and a friend. I'm realizing that students like Christopher benefit from me just being there and giving them hugs. Others count on me to build their confidence and better enable them to read. And still others just like having another adult in the classroom to regulate the "troublemakers." Regardless, I'm continually learning how to better help them, and they are helping me more than they know. Revere is an experience I will never forget.