Brooke Phillips
Project MARS/AmeriCorps collects “Great Stories” from its members in which they reflect on their experiences mentoring in the classroom and the progress they see in students. This month’s story was written by Brooke Phillips.
One of the many wonderful stories that stick out to me is the day I became the “Word Search Whisperer.”
The kids do a word search in social studies that aligns with what we are learning about. These crosswords have proven difficult for many kids to complete, so kids came up to me in droves to get help. It seems that most of the kids didn’t really have any techniques to help them find the words, so I showed them ways to make the word search easier.
One child in particular was struggling because he struggles to read and has immense difficulty focusing, no matter how hard he tries. For most of the word search, I helped him stay on task and gave him guidance on how to find the words. He eventually completed the task – that’s what made this interaction so great. How proud of himself he was!
He felt so empowered, and I was so glad that I had been able to give him the one-on-one help he needed. I hope his confidence continues to grow and he becomes even more motivated to learn.
