Man is still responsible. ... His success lies not with the stars, but with himself. He must carry on the fight of self-correction and discipline.
Today my student made my day for me. I was tired and am still fighting my cold, but he put in a great effort, and was really motivated to try and get the word lists and his comprehension questions perfect, so that really motivated me. He also self corrects on many words, and only on a few did he need more that two tried to accomplish the word, it's awesome to see this kind of effort. He was especially ecstatic when he aced all of the comprehension questions after his oral reading. This has made me wonder if having him read out loud will help his comprehension. I know reading out loud can slow readers down, but I am more than willing to sacrifice speed for comprehension. The speed can come at a later date. He also seemed interested in the Shortcuts cartoon that I had for him. He liked going over the jokes and figuring out why they were funny. Here's a good one from Jeff Harris' Shortcuts:
What kind of music do mummies listen to? Wrap music!
Ha!
After some thought he was able to explain to me the difference between wrap and rap and why that is a funny joke, at least to some. Anyway, I must say, I'm interested to see how he does during our next session. And I hope he can build on his success.
It's great to see your child blossoming so well with your help. I love that his motivation seems to come from himself. That will really carry him far. I think these small, but observable measures of success will really show him that he's capable of more. He might have struggled in the past, but he's a self-fueled rocket shooting for the stars now!
ReplyDeleteI've gone through Julius Ceasar for the past five years now with my students. Your quote reminded me of this line:
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, / But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (Julius Caesar, Line 139, http://absoluteshakespeare.com/guides/summaries/caesar/act_i.htm).
Yes, Erik I'm with you there! my student has been hitting all the frustration levels, but he's not frustrated, I am!:) I know we need to assess and keep track of the data, but I really want to start on the strategies already! We all do!!
ReplyDeleteI think that is one of the joys of being a teacher. We can come in to do our job feeling under the weather, but the energy and enthusiasm of our students gives us the motivation.
ReplyDeleteI've known your student for a long time now given his background, and I am so happy that he has you to work with him. I can tell that he is comfortable with you, and therefore he's motivated to try his best. Kudos to you, Erik!
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