[(2,2) - Point to the 2 on the bottom. Point to the 2 on the top. Bring your fingers together until they meet. Make a dot with your pencil.]
She is a very intelligent girl. Whatever academic struggles she has aren't caused by any learning disability or lack of innate ability; far from it -- I'd venture to say they're caused by it. She's smart enough to fool people into accepting less. She's a pro at just barely missing the answer, just close enough that someone might accept it, correct her and move on. When she doesn't know an answer, she'll launch into one of her stories, bursting with words, not letting you get a word in edgewise. She's a charming girl.
[Charlie and Sharon have three cats and two fish. Cats cost $1.10 to feed each day. Fish cost $0.45 to feed daily. How much will it cost for Charlie and Sharon to feed their pets for one week?]
One time I wanted a dog but my mama made me get a fish instead and at first I didn't like it but then I sorta liked it and we had to feed him everyday just like this fish here and then he died and we hadda flush him down the toilet and also I have a friend name Charlie he live down the street and he don't have no cats he got a dog and one time it tried to bite me and I ran all-way-cross the street to get away from him and I was soooo tired that time. "Right," I'll say, "Wonderful. So I think we may need to multiply this time."
[Read the paragraph before answering the following questions. Why did the Pilgrims come to America? What did the Pilgrims do to entertain themselves?]
It started some Wednesdays ago when I was passing through the Mad Ants offices to pick up some mail, when I nearly stepped on a 7-year-old that was walking out of one of the rooms. (They're small. I'm big. It happens from time-to-time.) It turned out that one of the many community outreach programs that they had was an after-school tutoring program for local kids. The Mad Ants organization is very busy in the community -- we've got partnerships with local schools, businesses, churches, children's shelters, pretty much any group with a roof and a door. This is the reason we lead the league in attendance despite an admittedly lackluster record. I've always enjoyed this sort of thing, so I sat in on a session with our PR director (Thanks Heidi!) and ended up being more active than I originally planned.
[Connect all the dots that you have plotted on the graph. What geometric shape do you see?]
I was able to come to a few more sessions, and though we've only had a short time together, finishing up a little homework, I feel we made progress. Any problems she has in math or social studies stem from a lack of reading comprehension. Any problems with reading comprehension stem from a lack of focus and attention to detail. That comes from someone making you do it. All she needs -- like we all do sometimes -- is a coach. Since I have coaches of my own I haven't been able to make as many sessions as I've wanted to -- Wednesday is often a travel day. I haven't seen her in over a month. I worry I'm not helping enough. Lack of stability can hinder the learning process.
[Reread the previous 660 words. Was it worth it? Did you make a difference? Reflect and answer.]
They told me that she's been asking about me. Even though I brought a few tears out of her, she's wondering where I've been. I'm happy about my little victory but saddened at it's fleeting nature. The season is quickly coming to an end. So, too, will our time together. Luckily for the two of us, though, there's always a couple more Wednesdays waiting around the corner.
This guy is a professhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/coleman-collins/scoring-in-school_b_178501.html#ional athlete no less.