Reading is something that I remember doing frequently as a child. I have a little bit of recall learning how to read quite early. My mother was able to spend some time with me teaching me how to sound out words, read those beginner readers, and then move to simple books. Impressing people in kindergarten that I was able to do so well when I entered school, I enjoyed the attention that it brought, and it was soon my identity. Soon after, I found that this could be an enjoyable escape, and I learned to make it such.
My kindergarten teacher was able to capitalize on my love for reading by using me skills in the classroom. I remember that we had mailboxes, which were file folders, on the walls. Each of us had one with our name. When the other students were doing warm-up exercises with the letter of the day in the morning, I was the mail worker, and was able to distribute all of the papers that the teacher had graded into everyone’s’ files. It was a job I cherished.
I also learned that the librarian could be your friend. She allowed me to preview all of the new books that she received that were my reading level. I was always the first one to crack open the new binding of each book. After I read the book, I gave a short report to the class so they would know if it would be of interest to them. It was another way in which I felt special.
The program was to introduce a new program called peer tutoring to our school. It was a way in which some students who liked school and found their reading, spelling, and math work to be easy to understand were going to be able to share their knowledge with their classmates that needed some extra help. The tutors, or the helpers, would have a partner in class. This partner would be a student who needed some extra help. In the morning, the tutor would get to check their partner’s homework. If the partner needed to make any corrections, or had skipped any problems or questions because they did not know how to do them, the tutor would explain how to do those questions or problems.
When I was listening to the Title I teachers explain this program to the class, I was excited. I was sure that I was going to be chosen as a tutor. I could not wait to see who my partner would be. I would get to help someone every morning. I would get to check someone’s homework. I would get to explain what they did wrong if they had corrections or questions. I would get to assist the teacher. Even more exciting was what my teacher had told me in the classroom. I was going to have a special job in the peer tutoring program. I could hardly wait to see what my special job was going to be.
When my class returned to the classroom, my teacher explained that she had to wait until our parents agreed to have us be tutors or get tutored. She handed out papers to the students in Title I to get tutored, she also handed out papers to some other students to get tutored. She handed out other papers to some of us to be tutors. Everyone was excited to be able to work with each other in the mornings. We all wanted to have a partner. She then announced that I was going to have a special job, and that my mother had already agreed. I was so excited, I was about to burst. She said that I was going to be her assistant. If the tutors had a question, they could ask me. If a student’s tutor was absent, or needed help, they could ask me. If she was helping someone else, I could help instead. My class applauded for me. I was so proud! I had been singled out as smart, and my peers respected me for it.
