Blog post written by Barbara Mittman, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps member at Central Elementary.
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| Barb Mittman, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps Member |
I
developed my superhuman abilities to benefit readers and committed to the high
moral responsibilities of fidelity and integrity in September. Like any other superhero, I have tools to
help save students from the perils of illiteracy and skills to promote reading
fluency. I also have my own
Kryptonite. When face-to-face with a
student’s immediate success, my resolve can weaken.
A
second grader misses an “s” on a word in her final newscaster reading. I buzz in, as annoying as a gnat, with the
standard correction. An ELL student
omits a “the.” I touch the table with my
pencil eraser and everything comes to a screeching halt after seven correct sentences. One “-ed” stands between a third grader and a
perfect one-minute repeated reading and I see his shoulders slump as soon as I
extend my hand. In these moments of
success, I hate the disruption that the standard correction creates and want to
give in to the voice in my head that says, “It’s just an ‘s’ -- just this
once.”
My
all too human experience has taught me what difference a moment can make and I
can be quite disgusted by missed opportunities.
I am totally responsible for the time I have with each Reading Corps
student each day. Since just one letter
has the power to change meaning, it is up to me to exercise my super powers
time after time. The only sure outcome
of a weakened Super Tutor is a year of “dis” service.
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