History of Education

Topic: Tell of an opportunity you had to work one on one with a student.

One of the students I worked with was, "Leo".  Although Leo is the oldest student in class as well as the biggest and tallest, he is the most unsure of himself.  Leo has shown me how smart he really is, but what he lacks most is self confidence.  I remember specifically on certain assignments such as puzzle worksheets Leo would ask for help when he could obviously do it himself.  If you encourage him to work through the assignment on his own he gets very upset and shuts down.  Bringing Leo out of his breakdown is the hardest part.  He will say over and over again that he cannot do it making himself feel worse.  What I learned from Leo, is that there are some student who need praise and individual help far more than others, particularly student who may not receive it elsewhere.

Another student I worked with a lot was, "Tanner".  Tanner is in first grade and when he started school this year he wan't able to read or write most of the alphabet.  He has made outstanding progress and really loves knowing how much he has learned.  Tanner would also ask for help on assignments however, unlike Leo, he knew that he could do them, he just didn't want to do it incorrectly on his own the first time.  Tanner could work through the assignment alone if he was reminded of how much he has accomplished.  What I learned from Tanner is that encouragement is good, but praise is better.