Congratulations and best of luck to Karen as she moves foward in the process. I hold the highest admiration for teachers. My wife told me I have to. You see, she is a one.
As a matter of fact she is a Reading Recovery teacher. I don't know if your familiar with that program in Iowa.
She teaches only first grade students who are at risk. (way behind other first graders) She pulls them out of regular class and works with them 1 on 1 for about an hour a day. She starts with a battery of tests to identify the children most at risk. Most have some form of LD, emotional problem or they are from families of lesser means or homes where little english is spoken at all. Many of her students tell her there are no books in the house. Based on what the childs particular problem is she works out her lesson plan. Most of the children she works with are reading at class level or above by the time she is through with them. But it is the ones that she never seems to reach that haunt her and at the same time make her the teacher she is. She is a life time student, always learning new tools and strategies so that she can be the best at what she does. She is very dedicated to her students. She makes learning fun and when the child finally learns to read and works through the different levels most of them absolutely love to read. Generally the child has a favorite book by the time they have worked through the levels. The children that tell her there are no books in the house get their favorite book as a gift for their accomplishment. The school will not approve this method but my wife covers the cost of the book. During one of my tightwad moments one time I stated that this was costing us a lot of money. She told me it was well worth it to see the look on the childs face when they come in with this proud look on their face and say "Miss Bernadette, I took the book home and read it to my parents." She knows in many of these cases the parents probably understood very little of it.
Best of luck to Karen. I hope she gets all the recognition I know she deserves.
oz
