KidsRead Session 2

(or Why I'll Never Have Boys)

I'm frustrated because I can't work magic. It's really that simple. Once again, despite Leah's attempts to get more tutors to volunteer, I ended up with the three boys (who I will call B, C, and K). The situation was supposed to be alleviated, Leah put me with three not because I asked, but because they all needed placement and she trusts me. That's a new one. At any rate, it wouldn't be so bad, but...

This session I wanted to get the boys to actively discuss what they picked to read over the break. No deal. C didn't seem to have read anything, B had chosen a book that was too difficult (although that's okay by me, at least he tried) and K he'd read the whole book but didn't know why he liked it. He also said he understood all the words except the spells - he's in fourth grade and had chosen Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Cue the astonished looks. I don't know if I can believe him but he's in an accelerated math class and his spelling words for the week included "isometric" and "acommodation." Why is he here? Probably because he's a minority student and his mother is the type who will do anything for her child to get ahead. *sigh*

The other two who hadn't read/didn't have anything to discuss sat and read Easy Reader books that C had chosen before they settled down toward the end. I never did get any of them to read out loud for more than a sentence, which means I still have no clear idea of their reading level. It's obvious that the three of them are at radically different levels, but exactly what they can and can't read/understand is beyond me. C is the worst to handle, at any rate, because he acts pretty ADD and won't focus on anything but drawing his comics. B is ok, but won't read out loud because he doesn't like it, and K seems to be doing pretty well without this program.

At any rate, I'm trying again. This time, they have to read and make a list of vocab words they want to know. If there were a poster child for indefatigable optimism, it'd be me. I refuse to give up, at least in the long run. Sure, I'll complain, but I'd rather be stuck in a bookless world for eternity than let those kids walk away from these sessions having learned nothing. And maybe one of them will be switched to another tutor...

NaNo is coming up. Sign up or die. Actually, that should be And. Sign up AND die. I haven't yet, but then I've never actually made it to 50,000 words either.