Not a catch up by any means, but a brief comment on last week's reading visit. The 4th grade girl read beautifully, if holding the book a bit close. When we chatted after her reading, she mentioned that she had lost her glasses a month ago, but hadn't told her parents. On a hunch, I asked if she could read the sign on the bulletin board across the room - about 8 feet from us - 2 large easy words - poster sized and she couldn't. I asked gently how she managed the board in the classroom and she said her teacher let her get up whenever she needed to.... hmm, so the teacher know she needs and is missing her glasses. She explained further that she feared " a whipping" if she told her parents about the glasses. She told me she was going to tell them soon, even today - trying so hard to please, even a relative stranger like me.
Sigh, I mentioned it to the coordinator, who said the student had a good relationship with her teacher and she promised to check with the teacher about it.
This bright girl also asked me - "Why do we read to the dog?" I explained the premise, that an uncritical audience encourages struggling readers, while thinking to myself, that I am not entirely sure that the goals of this particular program are clear.
