Passing the Reading Clinic

On the last day of the Reading Clinic I was so sad to see the children leave but excited to see how far many of them have come.  The children had figured out that there was a party for them outside because some teachers and staff at the school were preparing food, drinks and eating supplies.  If there was going to be any sort of reading that day, the setting up and cooking ruined it.  Most Clinicians had realized that the students weren't going to read because they only had about 15 minutes so basically they had a free period where they could talk to their friends and hang out.  The one lady who yelled at my student for going to the bathroom was there and she was on high alert.  There was a basketball hoop all the way across the Gymnasium and I heard the students ask Mr. Santonastaso if they could play basketball and he said "sure, but be careful."  And they were but this lady yelled "Hey!" so loud that all conversations were ended and seeing what was going on.  She walked over to them, took the basketball from their hands, and demanded an answer for who let them play and when they tried to speak she wouldn't listen.  Then she walked away like nothing happened.

After about 10 minutes had passed, the students were excited because they were ready to receive their diploma for completeing the Reading Clinic.  My student went up towards the end of the line and he was so happy to have completed the Clinic.  Once they received their diplomas they were able to go and take a book of their choosing.  Many students were disappointed that they weren't able to get the one that they wanted but some of the children were very nice and traded.  It took about 15 minutes for about 25 of them to receive their diplomas and once they did, they were so happy to show it off.  Many of them showed it to their parents and the smiles on their faces were huge.

After the ceremony and a brief congratulations to all of the children, we went outside where there was a party with food that had been brought by the parents and faculty.  What really touched my heart was seeing my student eating his food and sitting by himself reading the book he just chose.  Now it was my turn to brag saying "He didn't want to be here, look what I did."  I felt like I had accomplished a lot with him and it was a shame to see him go.  His mother came over and introduced himself and she thanked me tremendously because even at home, she can't get him to stop reading.  She began to tear up because she knew he wouldn't have done well in school if he didn't know how to read well, she also knew of the harassment that he would deal with if he didn't read well.  I told her it was my pleasure working with her son and that he loves books on violent and dangerous animals.  As I was leaving I took one look back and said "I'm coming back next year, for sure."

Me and my student who had just gotten his diploma, because of privacy reasons I had to keep his name anonymous