Jonah was a student I tutored at a Title I elementary school. He was small in stature and a few grades behind his peers. He had a traumatic brain injury which slowed his growth and ability to learn. Challenged but not defeated.
His teacher warned me that he had difficulty retaining knowledge, but I discovered a student hungry to learn new things. We discussed new words in his stories, what they meant and how to use them in other sentences. He never ceased to impress me. Every child can learn something on their level.
Every Monday when I worked with him, he greeted me with a smile, asked how I was, and pulled out my chair for me. He lives with his father who is doing an amazing job raising a respectful boy with manners. I wish I could have met him but never had the opportunity.
I watched as he tried to participate in playground games only to be shunned by the other children. He would come to me with his head down hurting from rejection. Sometimes I would ask him to walk with me around the track pretending I needed his encouragement to exercise. Jonah’s step quickened every time I let him know I needed him to “help” me. Whenever he felt lonely, he asked me to stay and sit with him at lunch. I made sure we sat with the others in his class, and I tried to engage some of them in our conversation.
Each week I taught him one or two new words in sign language. It was a treat after we finished his reading and quizzes. He asked how to sign the word banana. It takes 2 hands, and one of his doesn’t function normally. So he held up the index finger for the banana and asked me to peel it so the sign would be complete.
The other sign he asked to learn was the word awesome. Then he signed to me, “I am awesome.” He did great with one hand. He said, “I’m always awesome.” I think he is, too!
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