Teaching Them to Believe

   One of my favorite things in this life is to see a child believe in himself or herself and to begin to step into their potential. I have loved the opportunity to step into a teacher role more and more with my lovely, adorable 1st and 2nd graders. I love to see them make strides and learn difficult new topics. I love to see the beauty and power when they believe they are capable. 

    Meet Victor. He is one of my first grade loves in Candelaria. Victor has some developmental delays and school is difficult for him. Because it is so challenging, he often gives up before he starts. One day I was working with him one-on-one practicing his letters. I told him that we were going to write his name. Immediately Victor began to tell me that he can’t do that. 

    We started slowly forming letter by letter. When we finished, I exclaimed, “Look Victor! You did it! I knew you could write your name.” A smile spread across his ace from ear-to-ear. He was so proud of himself. He went home telling his mom that he could do it. He could write his name. I know school will be a challenge for Victor, but I want him to know his capabilities and push himself to do more than he currently thinks he can. My heart loves moments like this when that belief first takes root in a child’s heart. 

 

   The first time I went to visit her class, my heart broke for Jesus. I asked her teacher how she was doing in class. The teacher looked right at this sweet girl and said, “Oh, she’s slow.” That same week we started our first grade tutoring group. We have seen her growing more and more in her letter recognition and sounds. She is a kinesthetic learner (a need her school will never meet) and it was so fun to watch something as simple as tracing letters with her finger as she named them, help her to learn their names and sounds.   

I love to watch their excitement as they grow and learn. Kevin’s sweet smile that spreads across his face as he decodes a new word. Genesis and Julissa jumping up in their chairs with crazy excited energy when they can identify a letter. High fives all around when they have learned a new skill or read a new word. I love to watch their confidence grow and their class performance improve. They are beginning to believe in themselves and working harder in school as a result. It’s a beautiful process that I’m thankful to be a part of.