"Courage is taking the first steps towards your dreams even though you cannot see the path ahead."
I work with a combination of in-person and online students on reading and spelling intervention, helping dyslexic kids find success. I engage with each student individually, whether they're sitting beside me or connecting from a distance. They really never interact with each other.
My in-person students might see my other teaching materials left out from the previous student or prepared for a busy afternoon of upcoming sessions. Seeing the names of other kids in my Big Books of Barton, mainly on the bookmarks in the places we left off, becomes intriguing clues to "the others" that are here but they never see.
Online students will see words and lessons that are still on the whiteboard behind me, and it will pique their curiosity.
"Who are these Other Students?" they want to know.
One commonality between all of my students is that they know that they are working with me because they are behind in school. They have experienced a shortcoming that indicates to them that they are different, not quite meeting the bar. Some even believe that there is something wrong with them...and only them.
They begin asking me questions, like:
"Who is this student and how old is he?"
"He is my age; how come he is ahead of me?"
"Is she doing better than me?"
I make a point right from the start to ask them what it is that they want to accomplish in their time with me.
However, having a future goal, one that will allow them to experience success, is key to this work. The big end-goal may be to read fluently out loud in front of others. It may be to read an entire story or book without making a mistake. Even the smaller, more incremental successes that we experience along the way can inspire them, encouraging them to continue the hard work of re-learning how to read and spell, keeping their future goals shining brightly on the road ahead. It is not a competition, but instead an unfolding.
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