Tutoring woes

I had a less than stellar session this week with the young lady I tutor in reading. Fortunately, I could vent later to my son, who  taught in a school with a large at-risk population. Some of you may recall he was the math teacher who refused to help me with my infamous geometry scene in Castaway Dreams. Speaking with him was helpful, especially when he gently reminded me her goals may not be the same as my goals.

I know part of my problem is I grew up in a home full of books and reading, where you were scolded if you left a book on the floor because books were to be treated with respect. My husband grew up in the same kind of household--love of literature was one of the things that drew us together, and he used to teach English in a public school. We raised our sons with a love of reading, and as my husband said to me last night when we discussed it, "I can't remember a time when I didn't want to read."

I hope when my year working with this girl is done that she'll come away from our tutoring sessions with better comprehension and a greater love of reading for its own sake. At the very least, I know she'll have met someone who's passionate about books and the joy of reading, and that example may help boost her desire to read more.