A little difficulty...

I have a student who has difficulty writing. He doesn't like doing it. It stresses him out and gives him lots of anxiety. This is hard, especially in 4th grade when we will have to take the Writing TAKS the first week in March. We don't have time to worry about how to actually write the words on the page, we only have time to worry about the thoughts that will be written on the page.

Well, I guess I'm making time this year, because this student is unable to write without lots of guidance and positive reinforcement. Luckily, I have lots of experience in positive reinforcement. I had a couple of kids last year who needed positive reinforcement more than they needed water to survive. The same goes for this year.

So last week we were working on our first composition of the year. For students who hate writing, this is a bit of a struggle. I sat next to one particular child each day during writing time so that we would have something to show from Writers' Workshop. Let's call this child Alexander. During Writers' Workshop, we were writing about our three most favorite possessions in our lives. He knew what his were and why. At least he knew what he should write. Now, actually putting the pencil to paper was another story. Needless to say, with lots of coaching and positive reinforcement, he wrote a few sentences each about each of his favorite things. This was lots of progress from where he had been the previous year or even the previous week. Skip forward to Back to School Night...

Alexander's mom approached me and asked how things had been going. I mentioned that things are difficult, but with positive reinforcement, we don't nearly have as many difficulties. I also told her that I just keep encouraging his writing and sure enough, he's getting it done. I explained that I had a child in the same position last year who shut down when I asked, "Why isn't your work finished yet?" But when I said, "Come on, you have a few more minutes to finish your work and I know you can do it," he came alive, finished the work, and even had a smile on his face when it was over. At this point, I could see tears forming in Alexander's mother's eyes. She was so happy that I was encouraging him and progress was being made.

Although it takes almost all of my energy to be next to him during every activity in which writing is involved, it is worth it. It's worth it to see Alexander happier at the end of the day and also for his mother to know that yes, this is something that he can will be able to overcome.