Today, I was reflecting on those kids I’ve tutored. Last summer, I started tutoring an super sweet sixth grader. She was reading below grade level, struggling with comprehension and fluency. Her awesome parents wanted to give her some extra practice and get her some help in reviewing those fundamental phonemic/phonics skills. As part of our first day, I had her take a “Reading Attitude Survey” and it broke my heart to see her put a 3 out of 10 for the phrase “I think I’m a good reader”. Guys this girl CAN read! She reads at a FIFTH GRADE level. We read several things during our session and while there are things we can improve, she is a READER!
As a reading tutor, the bulk of my work is with kids who are considered “struggling readers.” These are the kiddos who are reading below grade level, who may need some added reading practice, who might be lacking some phonemic awareness skills, or who haven’t quiet grasped the joy of reading. Almost all the kiddos I work with feel like they are a “bad” reader. It may be because that is what they’ve been told or it could be because they aren’t reading what their peers are reading (like this young girl). And that is SAD! These kids are still readers! They can read and read well!
While these readers may not be “on level” or hitting “bench marks”, they are still readers. This is due to the fact that reading is developmental. We learn to read much like we learn to walk. While there are things we can do to prepare and practice, ultimately we will walk and READ when we are ready. As parents, we celebrate EVERY first step. We rejoice when kids can do these skills on their own. And when our kiddos fall we don’t tell them “Oh you can’t walk” or “You are no good at walking”. Our kiddos don’t look around at their peers and think, man I’m behind I must not be good. No they get up and they try again. It should be the same with reading.
Photo by Jordan Christian on Unsplash
When these amazing kiddos fall behind or struggle, they need us as parents, adults, teachers, and tutors to remind them that THEY CAN READ and encourage them to KEEP TRYING. If I do nothing more that improve a child’s opinion of themself as a reader, I consider that a success.
