Quote:
Originally Posted by nice  When you are with kids, and you get so close to them, you have the tendency to feel all kinds of emotions. It's so easy to feel for the kids and then to feel with them at the same time.
The girl I tutored was the eldest, so I think she also saw me as an elder sister. And I think one reason some kids get so close to their teachers is that we don't emit an imposing authority like some parents do. Therefore, they can open to us easily.
Getting close to a child is really a gift. It is the way a child opens to us and allows us to mold him. bloom... wherever you are planted... orange-and-green footsteps-of-the-sun |
I honestly feel the same way with this boy.
His 11-year-old sister, I tutor as well. She likes to read about Black History, and would like to own her own hair salon one day. The three of them are all Afro-American, as you might have guessed by now. Their oldest sibling (also a girl) is in high school (same school).
She (the 11-year-old one) gets the lunchtime mentoring, while her brother comes down for reading sessions. Even though I love and respect her as well, it's her brother who makes us feels the closeness to to each other.
Usually, girls look up to women, while boys look up to men - hence the Big Sister / Big Brother Program. It's natural that they do that. I've had lots of kids look up to me in the past, mostly boys. So this boy is no different. He's doing the same thing!
Mainly because HE has no brothers to whom he can relate to for love, guidance and leadership, so I strongly believe that it is for THIS reason that the boy also looks up to me as his older "brother". He is truly heart-warming and a very kind and caring person!! He loves to talk!! We had fun yesterday! It's the boy/guy thing, I imagine. Anyway, he LOVES to be with me! I like the way that he took to me so quickly!!
He's very polite and considerate, and I've never seen him in a bad mood or angry with anyone! Just a little tired at times. He likes to stay up kind of late. I explaned to him that staying up late will definitely make him a little tired the next day.
I still try to get him to read a little though. He probably still feels embarassed to read in front of me since he has trouble with some of the words, but I always let him know that it's ok and that he doesn't ever have to worry or be ashamed to try it with me. I told him that I'll NEVER yell or scream at him. I like him an awful lot, and I want to be there for him and help him in any way to get over this problem that he has with reading.
I also told him that I'll never abandon him at all. I'm with him for the LONG HAUL. I just can't help the way that I feel about this boy!! He's so sweet and respectable. He just makes my heart melt!!
I want to see this boy become a WINNER and be better than I was!! All of them!! I want them all to come to me later and be able to say "Thanks for helping me at school."
Because I DON'T want him to be dropped from the tutoring program like the other little boy was. That to me, was so wrong!!
