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An Education Story
Linda is a lovely 14
year old girl who came to live at The Children's Home last year.
The cottage into which she moved was home to six other teenaged
girls, all of whom had lived here at least four years.
Linda had never been
successful at school. She struggled academically, and her frustration
often led to discipline problems. Within a few weeks of beginning
school last year, she had gotten into so much trouble (including
a fight) that she was placed in an alternative educational program.
Even with one on one
instruction, Linda was so far behind that her teachers believed
she had a learning disability. Tests revealed that she had a good
mind and was certainly capable of succeeding in regular classes.
The problem was her attitude. Linda received help through our
tutorial program and encouragement from all the staff. The girls
in her cottage pitched in to help her as well, because they wanted
her to succeed. They all made good grades; most of them are always
on the honor roll.
Linda figured out that
if she wanted to fit into that cottage, she had better start trying
harder at school! She began to pay attention in class, do her
homework, and study extra to catch up. Her grades began to come
up. When the first report cards came out this year, Linda was
on the honor roll for the very first time! She has received no discipline
reports, and several teachers have sent her postcards praising her
efforts in their classes.
Last week, Linda came
to the library for tutorials. She didn't have any homework; she
didn't need any help. She just wanted to see if she could help someone
else. We paired her with Ellen, a recently placed 10 year old
girl who has been struggling in all her classes. Linda patiently
worked with Ellen on her math for 45 minutes.
When the assignment was
finished, Linda told Ellen she would be just fine --- that this
was a good place to get the help she needed. Ellen hugged Linda
and thanked her for the help, adding, "You're a really great teacher!"
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