"I don't want your help! I want hers..." 1-14-08

During my time in the literacy block at my placement yesterday, something happened that really sparked my interest, in terms of how to go about handling the situation. I don't want to build this up like it was something huge, actually it was quite small, but it still sticks out in my mind as significant. The students were asked to write about a moment or a story that can be told very simply but they needed to use lots of details. Some students had a really easy time coming up with an idea to write about and others needed some extra probing. I began to work with one girl who couldn't think of something to write. We started to talk about what she did over the past weekend, and she decided to write about the games she played with her sister. I let her get started on her ideas and began to move on to other students in the room whom also needed help. It was when I was helping another student, when the parent volunteer who was also assisting in the room, tapped me on the shoulder and brought it to my attention that the first girl I had worked with was refusing to accept his help on her story and only wanted my help. While I was thankful this student was showing a need for my help and a want, I also felt that it could be hurtful to the student to neglect other forms of assistance as well. I went over to her, but before we got started I explained that I do like to help her, but there are lots of other students in the class that need help as well so sometimes its hard for the teacher to only stay with one student, and that when extra help is available it can be very good even if its not the person who you wanted. On the flip side though, I can understand why she felt that she needed my help. I started working with her from the beginning, so she felt comfortable with me since I was already familiar with her ideas. She probably thought someone else couldn't help her because they didn't know her story already. At this particular moment in the class there were three adults available to assist students who needed help. This is actually a very lucky circumstance compared to most classrooms that has just the teacher to provide support. I see that it can be hard for a child to seek help from someone they are not as comfortable with, but I also think it is important to teach children how to utilize their resources to the fullest potential. This is such an important life skill that can be shown even in first grade.