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Alice M.
WISE America Reads Senior Volunteer Tutor
Alice M. worked with children during the school year and continued into the summer at two different sites, including Santa Monica school district's intensive summer session for children who are falling behind. Alice requested to work with the same student she had helped during the school year, but not because she had experienced the concrete reward of seeing her student's schoolwork improve. As a matter of fact, Alice was puzzled by the child's lack of progress.
"I feel this emerging connection is an important part of her learning process, maybe even our learning process, because both of us are learning from each other."
"Sara [not the student's real name] is 7 and half years old. During the school year she was very scattered and couldn't focus. I tried everything. Her teacher told me Sara likes making up stories, so I asked her to tell me one, which I typed up and gave to her at the next session. The great thing was the joy on her face in making up the story, and her delight when she saw the finished product with her name in large font.
"I think at that point our relationship shifted and she became more positive to me. We liked each other better. I'm reading Mel Levine's book A Mind at a Time, which is about how we are all wired differently, and how to work from the child's strengths. And so when I noticed she has lovely posture, and a nice way of carrying herself, I suggested she might want to try dancing. Soon after, she told me she had learned some dancing, and that her dad might take her to a dance class. Then when I saw she'd taken my suggestion, I realized we really had made progress after all. We'd really progressed in our rapport with each other. When I worked with her during summer, she was less nervous, and sometimes she would greet me with wonderful enthusiasm. I feel this emerging connection is an important part of her learning process, maybe even our learning process, because both of us are learning from each other.
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