Saturday, November 27, 2021
I had tutoring sessions with the M &W sisters. As usual, I started with first grade M. She was left-back because of memory and reading problems. I haven’t done a formal evaluation, but I have difficulty believing she is not reading on grade level. Today, we came across the word decided. She asked for help calmly. I think this child had problems dealing with failure. I led her through the decoding process. I knocked off the final -d. That suffix adds a whole new level of complication. She had no trouble identifying the sounds in -ide, remembering the VCe rule. She could figure out the pronunciation for the de on her own, and she could blend the two syllables without difficulty. She should be fine.
With fifth grade W, I continued working on Phase II and Phase I on an eighth-grade level. Her vocabulary and comprehension are good. She continues to have problems separating the vowel from the following consonant. This is a surprise because both girls had extensive phonics training with an Orton Gillingham tutor. They are drilled on the individual sounds using flashcards in each session. I don’t use cards, and my work isn’t based on memory alone. I have the students identify each sound in each word. They can rely on their senses; hear the sounds they produce. It’s a different basis for the drill, but the outcome in both methods is the memorization of the sounds the letters can represent. Pattern recognition is an outcome of always making the sounds in the contexts instead of in isolation.
After working with Phase I and Phase II on eighth-grade material with fifth grade W for a while, I proposed writing another story. W said, no, she wasn’t in the mood. I told her that was okay. She should just start talking. I would write down whatever she said. I knew Friday she had missed out session because they picked up their cousins from the airport. I suggested she start talking about that. Words tumbled out. She was surprised she had that much to say. In a few minutes, she produced enough material for several stories. Of course, that’s part of the problem. She doesn’t know how to develop a single idea. That’s what we will work on.
When I worked with adolescent D later in the afternoon, I started by asking him if he remembered what we had talked about in yesterday’s session. He remembered something about system 1 and system 2. He couldn’t articulate what it was about. I have no idea of how much he really understood. I restated the ideas. System 1 is the ‘thinking fast’ system, nonconscious, automatic process; System 2 is the ‘thinking slow’ system, the conscious, nonautomatic process. D has not engaged System 2 on his own. I have been his System 2, directing his behavior. He at no point has taken over the reins in his own life. He just waits for me. No one can become good at something if they don’t take responsibility for their own learning. I did find he made more of an effort to lead the process o decoding words on his own today. It was only a little, but it was more than nothing.
I told him that I thought he could read most material he could encounter through school at this point. It would take him a long time to read it, but he could figure it out. He agreed. However, up to now, he will make no conscious effort to do so. His mother told me recently that she has seen some progress. He gets emails from his Boy Scout leader. His mother has made him read it and saw he could. None of the teachers in his school seems to be willing to ask him to do it. I don’t mean that they should ask him to read out loud in class; oh, no. that would be downright abusive. However, there is one teacher that works with him alone one day after school. I asked her to do so. She all but downright refused. His other teachers can ask him to do more written work based on what he has read.
After my session with D, I showered and got ready for my acupuncture appointment. Jennifer comes to my house. She passed me as she approached the house while I did one of my short walks with Elsa. This is the second session where the acupuncturist focused on the tight muscles on the left side of my body. As he left, she touched my back. She asked if I was stretching because my back muscles were so tight. No, that’s just how they were. Amazingly, I was not in constant pain.
She also finally put one needle in the inside of my left thigh, hitting Michael’s muscle. That woke something up. It felt better than it had in sixteen years after Mike injured me. That lasted for most of a long walk around the block, a good 4,000 steps. I think we were on to something.
I bathed Elsa again. Her skin has been bad; she has been throwing more lesions. I plan to bathe her several times this week. The good news is she didn’t run away when I approached to pick her up and take her to the kitchen sink. When she sees me with her towel, she knows what’s going to happen. She is one smart little \girl. I did remember to call the vet to make an appointment for another injection to relieve the itching.
When Judy and I talked, I asked her why people are reluctant to use conscious processing to make changes. She said people don’t want to change. Ah! I doubt adolescent D doesn’t want to be a good reader, but maybe he doesn’t want to experience himself as a different person. Of course, to be a good reader, he would have to change how his brain works. It would be a big difference. In all things, the drive to stay the same is in direct conflict with the drive to be something else, something better. That is true in all of nature and all of culture.
On the other hand, some people constantly seek change, but not really. They just want to change the circumstances of their lives, not themselves. My best guess is they get ‘bored’ if they are in one situation too long. Then their demons catch up to them; they are not distracted by the challenge of the unfamiliar. Damon and Cylin knew someone like that. Cylin said, “Wherever you go, there you are.” Being yourself is inescapable for those who want to escape the self and those afraid of change. We are always, inevitably ourselves.
Tonight was the last episode of Offspring. They tied it up nicely. Everyone ended happily. Ah!
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