Erasmo, Part 3

I’ve written before about Erasmo, the kid I tutor who hates reading, and who takes half an hour to sit down and focus on his work.

I prayed and prayed for a way to reach him. Now I’m happy to report tremendous success.

How did this happen?

I noticed from Day One (when he told me he had a pet dinosaur) that we’ve got a very creative kid here. So about six weeks ago I started bringing something for him to play with after he reads for thirty minutes.

One week I brought colored tissue paper and white glue, and we made collages. He loved it. When our time was up, I let him pick a dozen sheets of tissue paper to take home. You’d have thought I’d given him the keys to a Mercedes: “Really? Really? This is really mine to keep?”

Once I brought some of my daughter’s Legos, a toy he’d never played with. He went ape over them and begged me to let him take some home, which I couldn’t do since they were Laura’s. But I promised to bring them back another time and I did.

Since I instituted this new system, I’ve had absolutely no trouble; he comes in, grabs a book and goes right to work.

He only goofed off once. By the time he’d put in half an hour, I said I had to go home. (Actually I could have stayed overtime, but I spotted the teachable moment.) Since then, when he gets distracted, I’ll remind him he’s cutting into “play time,” and instantly he’s right on track.

That’s why it was such a joy recently when this boy who couldn't read, read three Easy Readers in half an hour. Every time he finished a page, he made the clenched-fist victory sign and shouted “Yes!”

In June the school hosts a party for us tutors, and we bring presents for our kids. This year I’ll give Erasmo three Easy Readers (He loves Clifford books) and…guess what I found on Ebay for $30…a box of 500 Legos!