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Friday, January 13, 2012

today

She greets me as I arrive.  Cordial.  Practiced.  Yet sincere.

The table is clean and uncluttered.  Just her textbook.  Her notebook.  Five freshly sharpened pencils.

I ask her what's new.  She tells me about a book she's reading.

She likes to read more than she likes to do math.  But I'm here, so we will do math.

We'll  play a game first.  She knows this.  She likes this.

I shuffle the cards and deal.  The game begins.

She wins.  And smiles.  I tell her she's faster than she was last time.

Open the book.  I remind her that algebra can be fun.  She's starting to believe me?

She's Wolfgang's age.  Academically, she's younger than Meego.

It makes me sad to think how lonely she was in school.

It makes me happy knowing her parents took her out.

It makes me sad that these concepts are such a struggle for her.

It makes me happy when she answers correctly and smiles.

It makes me sad that she needs a private tutor.

It makes me happy that her tutor

is me.
.

6 comments:

terri said...

I'll bet she's happy to have you as her tutor; someone who understands and doesn't judge. Someone who will just help her to get where she needs to be. Someone who will help her believe she can do it.

Kids who struggle academically so often believe that they can't do it. They believe they are stupid and that they aren't good enough. I'm glad she has someone who will help her overcome her hurdles.

Anonymous said...

So awesome that you do this. It's very rewarding, isn't it? I used to do some tutoring back in my teaching days. I had tons of patience helping other children with their school work, but very little patience with my own. Funny how that works. :)

Jenn and Casey said...

This is great! I'm glad you are able to help her :) And I love the style of writing in this post!

agg79 said...

I think it is great you are able to help her. She needs someone to help her understand and you are the best one to do just that. You could be the springboard for her success in life.

CiCi said...

Did she start the lessons prepared as she was in the last session, or was that something you instilled in her to bring pencils and paper? You will be making a big difference in her life.

Anita said...

I like the way you've written this, too. No wasted words. I get the picture, and it's a nice one. May it continue and be a blessing to both of you.