Building Trust & Confidence
Building Trust & Confidence
Kat, K-3 Literacy Interventionist
Ypsilanti
When I was working with a second grade student I noticed that he was a very good reader, but he was shy because he has a speech impediment. This made him self conscious because he couldn’t pronounce some words and sounds the same way as other classmates. When I was working with him on his reading, I was also trying to build up his confidence. I would do this by using positive and reassuring words.
By doing this I am building up the student and making sure that I do not make him more self conscious. Throughout my time working with this student I could see the joy that working with me and the interventions brought to him. He began to feel more confident and his progress monitoring scores showed this. I was also in contact with his teacher, as the students were on zoom, and I was able to observe some of his reading group.
The student was participating in this lesson and wanted to read and share his inputs, this was something that he would not do before. The teachers and I noticed this change and we were all thrilled to see him become more confident and comfortable in his own skin. By making sure that we are building up students and not pointing out their weaknesses, but instead improving on them it is very important and beneficial for the students.
While this student is no longer on my caseload I am happy with the role that I played in his literacy skills and seeing him grow as a student. This proves to me how important this work is and the importance of patience and repetition. The student knew what to expect from me and that he could trust what we did each day and we could both see the payoffs.
