The Encouragement to Shine

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The Encouragement to Shine

  • November 17, 2021
  • Posted by: Caitlin McCallum
  • Category: Wow Story
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I have an 8th grader who has a history of brain surgery and cannot see from the left side of each eye.  I have been doing 1:1 instruction with him in his core subjects (Social Studies, Math, and English) since he was in 6th grade.

When he started Middle School, most of the time he was too shy to express himself in front of the class.  Though he has always been participative in Music and athletic activities, academic tasks like reporting and reciting in class proved to be a challenge for him.  Even when it was just the two of us, he would sometimes refuse to express his thoughts.

This school year started great for him!  His Social Studies teacher asked me if he can join his peers for a group report.  I was able to observe how he shared his ideas on how to go about the report.  On the report day, he was able to read with confidence in front of the class, and even asked questions!  He has since had and delivered 2 more reports!  He also had a “speaking/reading” part in our Chapel last month.

He is also making progress in his written expression.  For poems like sonnets I only assisted him minimally by reminding him what lines need to rhyme.  His memory is also improving — he even remembers full lines from the novel we are reading for the First Quarter!  And he now shares related ideas and asks related questions about the content!

~written by Michelle Parreno, LSEM teacher at Westchester Lutheran School in Los Angeles, CA