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The Robinson Chronicles
The Giggle
Sisters
By Bob Robinson
Children are phenomenal creatures. Teaching at Edison and subbing in
our local schools has been a blessing… both have allowed me to learn
about and (hopefully) understand the diversity of our youth, the young
people who will be leading our country in the years to come.
My college population has ranged from 15 to 55 (all children by my
standards). The high school students are typically high achievers
hoping to get a jump on college expenses. In the same classroom I’ll
also have adult learners looking for a new career. Some of them hadn’t
been in a classroom for a decade, two decades or more.
Think about that challenge! Actually, it was my students – not me – who
resolved it. They suggested that since the class they were taking was a
communication class, why not spend 10 minutes of every session just
communicating, getting to know each other? Most indicated they finished
the semester with a better understanding of other age groups than they
had at the beginning of the term.
The bigger challenge is in our elementary and secondary education. This
is the tough one. This is where we find out how our little ones learn.
Some read and retain easily. Some have difficulty reading but can do
math problems in their heads. Some have difficulty with both because
they can’t “see” it. Some read well but have little or no recollection
of what they read… the variables are endless.
Imagine a classroom of 20 or more children, many of whom learn in a
different manner. You have one teacher who has to follow federal and
state guidelines… guidelines that either can’t or won’t address the
issues our young people face.
Frankly, government may never find a solution. The numbers are simply
too big. One size doesn’t fit all; and an individualized approach can’t
be designed or regulated for 50 million plus students. That leaves the
future of many of our children up to us.
We have great teachers. I’ve worked with them… they are dedicated and
skilled. We have special education teachers for the children with the
biggest challenges. Then there are some like me who believe that
one-on-one help with the basics, such as reading, writing (spelling)
and math, positive reinforcement, and getting and keeping their
interest, can help a huge population of little ones who need an extra
boost to stay up with their classmates.
Since the beginning of the school year I’d been tutoring two children.
One “graduated” and her parents work with her at home. The other is now
one of seven children I tutor each week since retiring from The Early
Bird. Several of the new students are really excited… when they see me
they tell their friends “Mr. Robinson is my tutor,” and they come up
for a big hug. They talk about the reading they’ve already done… they
are proud of their accomplishment.
They want to learn!
In my Grumpy series, I wrote about the kids who always said “Hi Mr.
Robinson” and gave me hugs or a high five… and I wrote about the kids
who didn’t like me (like Callie Z) or presented a challenge of one kind
or another. I also wrote about…
The cafeteria!!
Almost a universal challenge for our little ones is “inside voices” in
the cafeteria. When I’m volunteering I typically lose track of the
number of times the lights go out. At the same time this where I see a
lot of individuality emerge… the slow eaters, the fast eaters, the
non-eaters (“I don’t like it!”), the hard-to-open containers that spray
juice everywhere, the “he did this, she did that,” the hugs and high
fives…
It’s a thoroughly enjoyable experience. You should try it sometime.
It really is fun, but you also never know what’s going to happen next.
For instance, that’s where I first “met” the giggle sisters.
I have no clue what set them off. I have no clue why they chose me. I
don’t even know if they are sisters. They are two students who always
manage to be sitting together at lunch. When they see me, they wrap
their arms around each other, their faces frozen in mock terror…
And giggle.
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