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| Lisa Dennis, Iowa Reading Corps AmeriCorps member |
After four months of Reading Corps tutoring, my students are used to working with me. They see me every day at the same time, for the same amount of time, doing relatively the same thing. They get it. I've always felt like my students see me as another teacher, or simply, the "girl they read with." However, I've recently begun to realize that they see me as more than that.
One
of my students surprised me by drawing a picture that showed the two of us holding hands and included a
nice note to me at the top of the illustration. One of them insists on running up to give me a hug
or "high five" each and every time I see her in the hallway. And one instance
that made me feel really special was when I was working with a student and I
told him that he was doing so well that he might not have to see me anymore. I explained that his reading scores had improved so much that he wouldn't have to work with me any longer.
All
of a sudden, the tears started flowing. He was genuinely upset and sad that he
wouldn't get to see me anymore. He asked me, with watery eyes and a shaky voice,
"But will I still get to see you every day?" Just then, in that
moment, I realized that I'm not just "the girl they work with" or the
teacher who takes them out of class. Those 20 minutes that we spend together each day means something more to them. Its really nice to
feel that love from some of the most unexpected places.
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