AmeriCorps Mentors, Wright Elementary School
-Maria Magana, AmeriCorps Mentor
When I first met Christian I thought, "He'll never open up to me. I'll never get through to him." He would hardly communicate with me, which made tutoring stressful. As time went by, Christian quickly caught on to the new ideas in each lesson and began to open up to me a lot more. He was in a bad car accident when he was 5 which left him badly burned. I thought I had to treat him differently because of it but I've realized that while Christian may not look like the average seven year old, inside he still really is. I believe his resilience has helped him not give up on his reading. I've never met any child like him and I doubt I ever will.
-Brandi Johnson, AmeriCorps Mentor
When I first started tutoring Dante I was told by his teacher that he didn't like to read and that his participation level would be very low. Much to my surprise Dante is nothing like what his teacher described. He never wants to stop reading; it is by far his favorite aspect of the lesson! If I tell him it's time to move on he begs to read one more story. His motivation and desire to do well in tutoring is amazing. I am so happy that I get to tutor Dante and help him along the way in his reading process.
-Emily Nagel, AmeriCorps Team Leader
At the beginning of the year, Nikki struggled to sound out simple decodable words like "cat" and "mop". When I presented a new book for her to read, she would hesitate and fidget in her chair at the thought of trying to get through it all. She would complain- good naturedly and with a smile, of course- if I asked her to reread a sentence to work on fluency. Now, I am pleased to observe that Nikki's attitude toward reading has greatly improved. Just the other day, Nikki voluntarily asked to read a book that I was going to read to her. The book was slightly above her level, but she was determined to read it for the enjoyment of the story. She also voluntarily rereads sentences for fluency, always with her good natured, cheerful smile. Not only is she learning how to read but she is also learning to love reading!
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