by Jacob Whitmore
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| Some of her "tricks" (Photo Credit: Jacob Whitmore) |
Boy Oh Boy, Let Me Tell You...
I understand that doing schoolwork is not the most exciting thing in the world. I don't like doing it any more than the other person; however, I realize it's something I've got to do, so I buckle down and get it over with. Most of the students I've worked with at the Homework Help, although they can overly display their dread, are willing to get through their assignments and work with me. My last visit to the library left me with a new experience.
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| When she worked on her spelling... (Photo Credit: Jacob Whitmore) |
I had to help a 1st grade girl with a spelling assignment and reading. She was a sweet girl and very open with me. She told me it was Spooky Night (although I don't know why that was so), she loved Hello Kitty (as her attire showed), and her birthday was in two days. As soon as she set her backpack down, she looks at me and tells me, "I'm going to show you a cool trick." In order to establish a friendly relationship with her, I let her go on and show me. In my opinion, I wouldn't call what she showed me a "trick", and things didn't get much better from there.
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| ...and wetting a tissue when she wasn't. (Photo Credit: Jacob Whitmore) |
As the evening continued forward, progress wasn't coming along very well. In the time it took to write down 7 spelling words, we had gone through a few more "tricks" and journeyed to the other side of the library to find some tissues; this entire process took about an hour. When she would try to change the subject or do something else, I always had to bring her back saying, "Now, we have to finish this so we can get to other things." Saying this worked less than half of the time. Her older sister, the girl I had helped with make-up work that I talked about in my first written post, came over to set her straight. It helped just a tiny bit.
Then we began to read some of her short stories. Her sister had told me she needed to work on her reading skills, and as we started I saw why. She could not stay focused, groaning and messing with her jacket between each page. When she was reading, she would not sound out the letters to read words she didn't know, and when I did tell her what sounds they made, she would forget the next time she came across the same word later on. Man, it was a challenge.
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| One of her stories, which was about skating. (Photo Credit: Jacob Whitmore) |
We did finish one of the stories, which was all she was asked to do, so I guess the evening was a success. I've never had such a hard time helping a student. It makes me wonder how she behaves in class and what is done to address the issue. She was an extremely nice girl, but someone needs to help her readjust her behavior and keep her focused.
In retrospect, I think I know why it was called Spooky Night.
Sounds like a handful! How would you address her parents if they were to come in and ask about her progress? ( I know this is highly unlikely.) If you could write letters to the teachers of some of these students, would you? If yes, what would you say?
ReplyDeleteI would tell them that she's capable of the work, but she tends to get distracted. I'd ask them to talk with her about her behavior and try to work with her to understand why she acts the way she does and solve the problem. As for teachers, I'd write them and ask them to try and teach these kids in a more one-on-one way if possible. If the teaching is more personal, I feel they could make better progress with the kids.
DeleteHey, Jacob! I worked at a reading center all through high school, and, oh my goodness, this gave me some serious flashbacks! I completely get the short attention span, and struggling to keep them focused. Do you think that serving with them was a rewarding experience over all? What advice would you give to someone that was going to serve there in the future?
ReplyDeleteGreat questions. Overall, I would say it was definitely rewarding. There were only a few times that I had some trouble, and even then we still accomplished the task at hand. Even if it's a challenge, it is always rewarding being able to help someone understand anything. For future volunteers, I would advise them to keep an open mind and be tolerant. You never know what the kids may be going through, so you have to be there for them to provide positive engagement.
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