Teachable moments

Alright so I am trying to figure out how to add pictures to this site..............I think I still need some work. I have no idea why this is sideways, but here is one of my students working on our science fair project. This is MY classroom. Sometimes I still can't believe it. My favorite part is that I have a huge wall of windows. All of the other teachers cover the windows with posters and boxes but I can not stand the thought of it. I love that at any moment I can look outside and see the snow capped mountains and feel the sun warming the classroom. My classroom is huge. This is taken in the middle of the classroom so you can see how big it is. I am really lucky.

So I can not figure out how to rotate these pictures but, I really wanted to tell you about this student. His name is Alejandro. When he came to me in JUly he could not read or write. He has been retained many times. He is eleven and in fourth grade. Just as a point of reference my sister is 12 and in seventh grade. So I kinda made it my goal to get this kid reading. He has come every day before school and we have worked on reading tons. I have referred him for extra help but they tested his IQ and because it is so low, but not low enough, he does not qualify for any extra support (gotta love the CA programs). So, I usually read the questions on tests to him, he tells me the answers and we work together to write them down. Well, I wanted to see if he could do the test on his own so I told him I was not going to help him this week. He has a great attitude so he sits down and I see him struggling with the work in front of him. I had to walk away to keep from picking up the paper and reading it to him. About a half hour later he walks up to me with a huge smile on his face. He says, "Ms. Herbert, guess what? Remember how you gave me these tests and I couldn't read any of the words on this sheet. Well, now I can read all of the words and I can use part of the question in my answer just the way you showed me." He was so proud of himself it made me want to cry. I told him how proud of him I was and how hard he has worked to get where he is. When school seems like endless amounts of paperwork and I question if I am making a difference I will forever think of this kid and how proud he was at all of his hard work. It is moments like these that remind me of why I became a teacher.