We learn from one another...

Today's session was quite different from our usual tutoring routine. It was instead a time to share with the group our lesson plans and reflection. I enjoyed hearing all your ideas from your lesson. With Mar's lesson, I liked how she incorporated a lesson to introduce diversity and the new incoming students. Geri's lesson had different strategies that we have learned from our previous courses. Having a variety of methods can make learning more productive. It was interesting how Christine was able to work with a teacher who teaches the hearing impaired. I learned something new from her observation of the teacher in regards to the way the students write. Erik had humored us with his experience of being in the "laid back" teacher's classroom. Reminds me of the southern roots. After all, I did attend a high school in the southern area. Plus I have many relatives from the south. There are so many ways to incorporate literacy into our planning. As teachers, we understand the importance of modification to meet the needs of every student including our ESL and students with learning disabilities. Now we have one final task to complete. The only thing I need to do after this blog is sleep and recharge for a full day ahead tomorrow.

Image courtesy of http://www.ktdl.co.uk/image/quotation_summary_003.gif

Getting Back

Taken from http://www.furnessenterprise.co.uk/images/Return%20to%20work%20logo.jpg

Coming to class as a "student" today was different and refreshing after so long being a "tutor."  I was glad to have this longer time to reconnect with Team MAGEC.  We're all making progress, and it's exciting!  Annette's MAGEC PowerPoint was really impressive.  Every touch was just right.  You can really see the love and time she put into it.  Those parents aren't going to know what hit them!

The sharing was great as always.  I learn so much from everyone's experiences.  I didn't know all that much about elementary or middle school before I started with Team MAGEC.  Thanks for giving me insight into my post-graduation options.

Alas, it's back to work for us.  With the majority of this semester squared away, we just have to maintain the motivation we had from working with our students and seeing them improve.  While tutoring was (more) fun, for the rest of the semester we have to buckle down now and finish up those Addenda (because apparently that's the plural form!).  As this semester ends and we don't get to see as much of Team MAGEC as we've grown used to, let us "keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths" (Walt Disney, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/new.html).

Literacy Strategies Anyone?

Today's session included the presentations of the literacy lesson plans for paraprofessionals by Team Magec. The literacy strategies listed in the lessons are not only excellent strategies to apply in almost all the academic subjects, but fun ones too for the students. Strategies like the graffiti board, written retelling, sketch-to-stretch and others, are engaging activities that catch and maintain the students' interest.

Because we just completed Chamorro Month, I thought it would be an interesting way to end it by tying my para professional's lessons with the Chamorro concept of the taotaomona legend, and the carabao, a familiar animal seen on Guam. As the graffiti board deals with the student's schemata and perceptions of the taotaomona, it was naturally a "hit" with my students. As I observed the para professional implement the lesson, I noticed that my students were so engrossed in their activity that it was hard to pry them off of it and on to something else. As for the written retelling strategy, it was a new concept for them, so it took quite a bit of encouragement by the para professional to try to get the students to use as many words from the text as possible. But, once they got going on their task, and had completed it, the results showed their understanding of the fable, "The Carabao and the Shrew." Hooray for the power of literacy strategies!

We call a child's mind "small" simply by habit, perhaps it is larger than ours is, for it can take in anything without effort."

Christoper Morley

image: graffiti board by Ms. G. Sablan's students: Marcial A. Sablan Elementary School

quote: http://www.thinkexist.com/quotations/children/4.html

Worry-free

http://photobucket.com/images/Inspirational%20Quotes/

It has been a really busy week for me, from accreditation meetings to preparing for our "Parent-Share" Presentation during our Parent Teacher Conference, to scheduling to meet the WASC team as a grade level chair. I kept thinking I would still have time to further discuss the lesson plans with my paraprofessional then she goes on leave! Although she has returned, I'm sure she is not emotionally ready, luckily I have my ESL aide (soon to be teacher) to tap on. I know he will do a great job, because he has worked with my students for 3 months now. I realize there are aspects in our lives we can not control and thinking about it only stresses you out! So instead of trying to take control of things in your life and worry about it, just give it to God because He is in control. We really need to quit worrying and concentrate in doing what we do best; teaching. Have a great weekend team MAGEC!!

Preparation

"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."

-Benjamin Franklin

Well, I'm happy to have my lesson plan for a paraprofessional ready to be taught tomorrow, so I'm hoping that goes well. Additionally, I need more data for me student and will be retesting him on several level three and level five passages. I intend to do this before school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I just need to remember to wake up early! I know I can do this, but I think I was relying too much on Spring Break to get stuff done. It's time to get on the pony and ride as they say! I have to balance all of the work with teaching, accreditation, and class appropriately, and methodically get my testing done. I have to have all of my normal lesson plans ready ahead of time, since I normally do them in the morning. Preparation will be key. Wish me luck!

Image and Quotation Citation:http://www.telesalesmagic.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/preparation_mousetrap.jpg

This calls for a celebration...

"There are no shortcuts to life's greatest achievements." --Anonymous

With the last session completed I can now reflect on all that was done. If we count the months for ED643 and ED644 it will be an estimated 10 months. It was almost as if we were on a probational work period to test our skills and knowledge of reading strategies. First the assessments from the previous course. Those results were important for our data. It was necessary in order to determine what needed to be done to help our students. We were all so eager to start applying the strategies we have learned. When we finally started ED644 we were worried that in the end there was no progression. However, as our sessions continued we knew how to work with them. Most importantly, we determined what would work best for them. Now that the tenth session has passed and our assessments were re-administered, it was evidence that we did our jobs. We are officially off the probational period. Next step ahead, PRAXIS II. Other than Erik who recently took the test and I'm confident will pass when his results come in. If it weren't for such a close knitted group we couldn't have made it this far. The support and encouragement has helped in so many ways. Especially when one of our students was unable to attend the session. We felt empathy because every session counted. Let us continue to believe in ourselves and why we chose this major in the first place. Truth be told, it is a profession to be proud of...Reading Specialists.

Image courtesy of: http://iowahouse.org/

I think I'm done...

Yes, I think so.  I'll have to double check and input the data and compare it to last semester.  But it looks like my student has improved enough to have the data bear out.  I'm glad that I can move on and work on the other requirements of the course.  It's been a tough semester, and it's not done yet.  


Our time with our kids is over or ending.  Let us be appreciative of every evidence of improvement, no matter how small.  Our time with them can only be a good thing in their literacy lives--"we did everything that could be done."

"Let us be sure that those who come after will say of us in our time, that in our time we did everything that could be done.  We finished the race; we kept them free; we kept the faith." --Ronald Reagan (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/done.html)

Just a little Humor!

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn202/theworldofisaac/tn_headbutt.jpg

“I'm disappointed, but I'm not going to run around like Dennis Rodman and head-butt somebody.” -Greg Norman

http://thinkexist.com/quotations/disappointment/2.html

Yes, a little goes a long way! A little accomplishment is better than none. I'm glad we're done with the testing part, now we can start working on our addendum! Thank you Team MAGEC for all your encouragement!! Looking forward to the family literacy celebration.

Wait and See

Learn to labour and to wait.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This morning my student came to me to ask for a make up session tomorrow at lunch so he could attend his dance practice this afternoon. I noted how responsible this was and consented. Sad for me, but I think he was happy not to let down his dance group and his dance teacher. Anyway, today I created my Livetext portfolio and uploaded my session reports and midterm to the template. I also finished my second lesson plan for my paraprofessional and hope to implement them next week. I'm having the students read legends of Guam, so hopefully the students will have prior schema, react well, and enjoy the legends. We shall see. We shall also see about my student's make up tests from the QRI-4, hopefully he will be at his best tomorrow morning and at lunch.

Quotation Citation: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/quotes/favourite/henry_wadsworth_longfellow

Image Citation:

http://www.artistsbooksonline.org/images/j/jwas/display/jwasEd1Ob1_di_0002_00.jpg

A Proud Student, a Prouder Teacher

I couldn't be prouder of my student than I was today; not only did he improve on the QRI word lists, but he scored instructional on third grade level of the word list. In addition to that, he scored at instructional at the primer level of the narrative that he read today; a level higher than last semester's. It may seem to others that one level higher is not much of an improvement, but Team Magec knows that there has been a lot of work and effort put into the sessions with our students. Even the slightest improvement is valuable to us and to them. We all know that no two people are alike in their rate of learning, so we are truly appreciative when we see how much effort our students put into improving their reading skills. But, I think more importantly, what is even more significant and meaningful is knowing that they have the desire and drive to improve.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

Confucius

image: http://www.trickjarrett.com/wp-content/uploads

quote: http://www.thinkexist.com/quotations/children/

The road ahead...

"No road is too long for him who advances slowly and does not hurry, and no attainment is beyond his reach who equips himself with patience to achieve it." --Jean de La Bruyere

For today's final make-up session K.T. did 5 passages from the QRI-4. I started with a level three with no look-backs. The passage did not have any pictures and K.T. was only able to retell 5 ideas. I decided it may be difficult for her so then I went to several level two narrative and expository passages. K.T.'s strengths would be miscues from oral reading and answering the comprehension questions. With retelling, I think it depends on her interest and prior knowledge of information within the passage. Based on her results for level two, I administered a level one passage and she placed in the independent level. For the final session, I want to do more testing to determine her results. I'm glad I no longer have to do the primer passages as compared to last semester. This is indication that she has progressed. I even reminded her not to forget tomorrow's session. We all know what it feels like to do make-up work. See you all then.

Image courtesy of: http://www.talesofkindness.com

Getting back on track

"Once children learn how to learn, nothing is going to narrow their mind. The essence of teaching is to make learning contagious, to have one idea spark another."--Marva Collins

Today's was a make-up session. K.T. is back on track. I was able to administer the QRI-4 word list. Based on the results, she has gone up two grade levels. She has also shown great improvement with her pacing of reading and comprehension skills. This is the feeling that I was looking forward to. I know she felt proud of herself as well when she was able to answer the questions and rarely struggle on the passages. K.T. has come along way. I remember thinking will there be any evidence of improvement that we all hope for? Sessions like today make me eager to do the next make-up session. Although in the end of this course we will get our grade, the real reward is knowing that we helped our students to gain confidence in reading. This is one course that has put our skills to the test. In the end, we can all reflect back and say, "We did it!"

Image courtesy of http://www.kidsdiscover.net/

Concentrate!

"Discipline and concentration are a matter of being interested." --Tom Kite (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/concentration.html)

taken from http://images.inmagine.com/img/amanaimagesrf/amrf191/amrf10154000476.jpg

Wow!  Today was the hoped-for productive session.  We just went straight into assessments and completed six!  I'm glad that we were able to keep up the pace though my student was showing some signs of weariness by the end of it.  But ever the trooper, he didn't complain and we made it.  Here's hoping we can keep this streak going until next time so there will be no need of an extra session.  


While reading and answering questions, my student kept impressing me with the speed of his replies and how much more he was able to understand and communicate back to me.  I can only hope that this will carry on and carry him through high school and beyond.  I can see more and more of his potential being realized--and I know that he wouldn't have made it this far if he didn't want to succeed, wasn't thirsty for knowledge.  I am thankful for my time with him; his success inspires me!

Murphy's Law

http://pleasantvalleyhslibrary.wikispaces.com/file/view/library_animated_boy_reading.gif/72855503/library_animated_boy_reading.gif

Murphy's Law #1. If something can go wrong, it will.

http://quotations.about.com/od/murphyslaws/tp/10_murphys_laws.htm

Well, Murphy's Law is not really a quote, but it brilliantly describes the expereince I had with my student today.

I came to class with great expectations! I couldn't wait to test my student and record the results. It did not happen, at least not today! It almost felt like the first day with him. I wondered if he was just having a bad day, or he did not have a healthy snack after school. He took a break after the first part of the test, had a snack, drank, used the rest room and washed his hands. I administered the next part and got a little fustrated because he wanted to read the passages fast. I had to tell him to slow down and sound out the letters. He was inserting words that were not even there. So he sounded out the letters of words he did not know and read slowly. It was not fluent. He read the words he knew and paused and sounded out the words he didn't know. I had to remind him to say the word after sounding it out. It took longer than usual to read. As I compared his last assessments to the present, it looks like he did "a little" better, not the "Great" I expected. I am still holding out for better results next test session!

Assessments in the Works!

"The desire to know is far more important than achievement and/or performance measures."

Caine & Caine

Today my student and I went through some routine strategies briefly, before we tackled the "fun" part of our session: assessments. Although I was only able to test him on the QRI word lists (levels primer-third) and do a miscue analysis on a different primer narrative passage from last semester's, the results were nonetheless very meaningful and encouraging. He scored a notch higher on the level two word list, scoring on the instructional level, showing an increase from frustrational to instructional. Although he scored frustrational on level three, I have high hopes that he'll do better next time. I see the desire in him to reach higher levels as we continue to make progress. This is a good sign, for it shows the willingness of my student to improve in literacy aquisition. Just today, he commented on how he wanted to try reading the words from the middle and high school lists. While I commend him for his genuine interest to try reading those horrendously difficult words, I applaud the desire in him even more! It's that burning desire that I hope will never die out!

image: http://hsdboardmemberwordpress.com/2008/07/25/doug-reeves-on-toxic-grades/

quote: http://www.adprima.com/quotes.htm

Improved?

“Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.”

Mofee123 Winston Churchill quotes

Today I began testing with the QRI. He made slight improvements in all of the word lists, (one more correct at each level), and he scored at instructional on the two level four readings I tested him with today. That was good. He really wants the movie tickets as well, so he is concentrating extra hard. We also finished the vocabulary word poster, and I know he was proud to show off his drawing, he specifically mentioned having "Miss G" see it, because he couldn't draw in the fourth grade! And of course, we had our mandatory game of Scrabble! We'll see what happens next week. Anyway, most importantly, I feel like with the right environment, he will enjoy reading and literacy. It will be up to the parents after next week. Hopefully he'll improve.

Quote Credit

http://thinkexist.com/quotation/every-day-you-may-make-progress-every-step-may-be/348040.html

Image Credit

http://www.learningpolls.org/graph_improvement.jpg

"Climbing mountains"

"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vintage point."--Harold B. Melchart

Today is yet another session with no student. K.T. was out with the flu for the past week. She had returned to school yesterday with her doctor's note. However, she was released early today because of her recurring symptoms. I thought about the minor setbacks such as the make-up sessions and the amount of time we have left until our draft of the report is due. I definitely need to fully charge myself in order to catch up. I had my assessments planned out for today so that I could determine how she has improved. I'm at least thankful that her grandmother's house is up the street. That way I can assess whenever possible. As I was browsing through some quotes for my blog today, I could not help but read over the one I had posted above. Somehow I feel that I am climbing a mountain. Not necessarily because of the trials, but more in the sense that I know I will eventually get "there." There as in goals. I chose to climb and I have to take a few breaks now and then. Within those brief moments of taking a break, I should look around and count my blessings in life. On a simple note, I just have to remember that what I choose to fulfill in life is not necessarily about how long it will take to reach it, but the journey and lessons along the way.

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."--Helen Keller

Image courtesy of: http://www2.timesdispatch.com

Without us to push them...

Without us to push them, will our students still continue to do as well as they have been?

Taken from http://www.toonpool.com/user/2141/files/push_395925.jpg

I know we're all anxious to finish this semester and reap the rewards of a whole school year's worth of hard work in May.  I also know that as teachers we may be plagued with the insecurity that students may plateau or regress without us.  We can only hope that they get good teachers next year, have a solid support group, and develop self-reliance.

But good teaching doesn't end when summer comes, and I'm sure we've all made enough of an impression in our students' lives to keep them going.  I just can't wait for us to see our kids 5 or 10 years from now being the great adolescents/young adults we know are in there!

I also hope WE and our students remember that though difficulties will be inevitable in the future, "Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm" (Winston Churchill, http://thinkexist.com/quotations/graduation)

The other side

http://liology.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/rainbow.jpg

"If you're feeling low, don't despair. The Sun has a sinking spell every night, but it comes back up every morning. The way I see it, If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."

-Dolly Parton

Today was a busy an emotionally trying day for me! So I knew before class started, I needed to put my game face on! To my surprise, my student took the reigns and did his word strips, book reading, word & picture flip book AND word lists, with minimal guidance and few word corrections. He made my tough day easier, hence the other side, the teacher "not being all there". At the end of a difficult day, I got to see the rainbow after the rain!

Success in Bits and Pieces

The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn

John Lubbock

Today was a prime example of success in bits and pieces. Although, not all the strategies and activities on the agenda happened, nevertheless, the few things that were accomplished were significant and meaningful in what they revealed. My student is truly making progress, step-by-step, and bit-by-bit. The assessments that I performed today, revealed that he is one to two levels above the instructional level from the previous semester. He is more confident and adept in recognizing high frequency and basic sight words, and he had no problem reading an unfamiliar narrative passage on the pre-primer level. Better yet, he scored on independent level for the expository passage, which is a level higher than before. Yes, bits and pieces, but a giant step for my student.

image: http://www2.stetson.edu/celebration/wizard/Wizard_lt.jpg

quote: http://drwilliampmartin.tripod.com/bigedlist.htm

A change of pace...

"Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life. --Alvin Toffler

With only three more tutoring session left, I will have to make up the session for today. It was quiet in my room today. When you get used to the pattern of tutoring, one day with no session feels quite different. Life is about accepting things you cannot change, and realizing that our health is most important. Like any concerned parent, teacher, or mentor, I hope she gets well. However, I managed to make use of my time for and started uploading the pictures for our PowerPoint into my computer. After all, time is ticking away. I will be sending each of you an attachment of the photos. Christine did a great job on taking many pictures, so emailing them to you may take some time. Don't worry, you will all get your copies. I also used this time to go over the addendum that will be due in a couple of months. I recently read an article which the author mentioned that to understand the needs of a struggling reader, try tutoring one. When we complete this course in a few months, the strategies that were used will help us in our future occupation as Reading Specialists.

Image courtesy of: http://thepositivelife.com/

Let's Draw! And then read.

Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.
Henri Matisse

Today, I decided to start a project that he can put up on the bulletin board. That blank spot under his name was simply getting to him. Because I have him in class, I knew he liked to write words "graffiti" style, I had him write some of his vocabulary words on index cards in graffiti style with a picture to help represent the meaning. He really enjoyed this activity. Ironically, he tended to choose words which had the easiest letters to draw. Go figure. For our think aloud activity, I was excited that at different points in his reading he would comment "whoh, whoh", which made me happy, because with that one sound, he was showing understanding and learning. He also was able to connect schema from my Social Studies class! The book mentioned several countries and continents, and at different points he thought aloud and told me where the places were. I could see the maps lighting up in his head to tell him where the places were. The trick for the next few sessions will be to engrain the think aloud and questioning procedure in him, in the hopes of him feeling "blissful" about reading. We shall see.

Quotation Citation : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/drawing_2.html

Image Citation: My Student.

Risk and Reward

If you don't risk anything you risk even more.
Erica Jong

Today, was cool. We shook it up and played some Scrabble. The best part is that he wants to beat me, and he is motivated to THINK. That's all I want! The Silverstein poems went well, and my favorite sound is when I hear "ahhhhh, I get it sir!". That makes my session whenever it happens. We also finished the careers in auto racing book and he journaled about risk and reward, and of course, came out saying that the risk was worth the reward, and I think I'm going to do the same thing next week and try out a new book and do some think alouds with him, it feels risky to me because he had some trouble with it last semester, but if I can give him a metacognitive skill, I'll be quite excited, and he'll be a bit further on his way to being an independent reader. I hope the risk will reap rewards.

Quote Credit: http://www.best-quotes-poems.com/risk-quotes.html

Image Credit: http://www.thedigeratilife.com/blog/index.php/2008/02/21/new-to-prosper-how-to-manage-your-risk-as-a-peer-to-peer-lender/

Shock and Awe

I do like to shock and surprise people.  When it's all in good fun, of course." (Ruth Warrick, http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/shock.html)

taken from http://www.segabits.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Shocked.jpg

I'm not too sure why my student wrote his story as he did, but his uncle is a high school guidance counselor and I think an email update will be forthcoming.  His personality is such that I think it's mostly just a product of his preference for violent and adventurous movies.  We draw from what we know, after all.  I think a follow-up to add to the story would be a fun thing.  This may just be his next journal topic!


Today, I was struck by how loudly and confidently he read his story and how well and quickly he went through the comprehension questions for the passages we read.  It's such a change from his shy and reticent self just a few months ago.  I see the same improvement in all of our students.  I think the way that these courses are set up really does allow for optimum growth.  The kids are able to settle in and feel at home--and then really let themselves take risks and become better readers and writers.  It's MAGECal!

"Hang in there"

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place."
--Author Unknown

Today's session began with ten additional words to add to her word wall. K.T. also read a story and I typed out her three sentence summary for her since she wasn't feeling well. She had complained of a bad headache so I automatically knew I had to alternate the activities for today. I had her do about five different types of educational activities that focused on onsets, rimes, spelling, and pronunciation of words. Thank goodness the Internet serves as an educational resource in addition to our traditional reading strategy techniques. With only a couple more sessions left, productivity is important. It's a good thing as teachers, we learn to modify, adapt, and keep on going despite the setbacks.

Image courtesy of http://www.thelearningcommunity.us/

The Joy of Wonderful Surprises!

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.

Franklin P. Jones

Today's session with my student showed me that life's surprises come in many forms and ways. I was ecstatic when I tested my student on word identification from the QRI word lists, and he scored on the instructional level on reading level one. This placed him two levels above last semester's instructional level. It just goes to show that working hard and dilligently with a student on a regular basis, plus getting the family support from home, are testaments to how well a student can improve on achieving academic success. To top things off, my student surprised me even more when he proclaimed that journal writing is his favorite part of our sessions. What's interesting to note is that writing was never one of his favorite school activities, but allowing him the opportunity to express himself without being too concerned with the mechanics, has somehow peaked his interest. The mere fact that he's motivated to write is a big accomplishment for him. A lesson to be learned is that being patient with your student can and does bring positive results.

image: www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/patience.html
quote: http://www.quotegarden.com/children.html

The "seeds" we plant

http://connect.in.com/inspirational-quotes-teachers/images.html

As I watch my my student read, I am humbled by how far he has come, from that shy and quiet boy to the confident and motivated person he has become! It took alot of courage for him to share himself to a new teacher, but he has open up and shared what he has learned thus far. He loves to pick out books to read and enjoys his sentence strips. I thought of him as I read this quote: "A teacher plants seeds that grow forever" it is my hope that he continues to grow in his love for reading!

The M & C of Team MAGEC!

www.agiftofinspiration.com.au/feature/​

I personally do not enjoy make-up sessions, fortunately I was not alone! Christine and I worked until dark (thank you CJ for waiting for me) we both had a productive work session and she was nice enough to wait for me while I dropped my student home. I am so lucky to be part of a team with similar goals and work ethics. I thought of team MAGEC as I read this quote, because our student is where our heart is, we think about their reading success as we go through our sessions and as for our feet...........I hope they eventually lead us to graduation day!!!

Memory...All alone in the moonlight...I can smile at the old days

Today my student wowed me with his creativity--not drawing this time, but writing!  He shared a sensational story about a Pastor from his church getting shot.  It was quite a shocking one, and I'm happy to report that it wasn't one that was based on real events.  He successfully rearranged a mixed-up story relatively quickly and opened up more about what life was like in Chuuk.  In all, it was a productive session.  How he fondly shared spearfishing adventures and what has been going on at school, it highlighted just how "Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose" (http://www.quotegarden.com/memory.html).  He's such a wealth of knowledge and there's so much that he can teach me and others.  I want him to use language to help him share and preserve all that he is.  With how things are going now, I think we're on the right track!

 taken from http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4-L6rEm0rnY/hqdefault.jpg