Teacher Colleague Letter written at the end of the semester on December 7, 1999

Dear Colleague,
I chose the ROR program because it gave me an opportunity to work with children doing one of my favorite activities storybook reading! I gained 3 things: a positive relationship with my classmate/colleagues, staff at Oxford Pediatrics (theyre great!) and Dr. Ubbes; an opportunity to work on problem solving skills while dealing with children at ROR. Example is searching for a way to draw a child into a conversation and book, finding ways to integrate literacy, into play for children who chose not to share books; an understanding that no matter how many times you read a book before a ROR session, you will mess up a word, and you will get laughed at by some child. More importantly that its okay. The 3 questions I still have about ROR are How to handle children that throw tantrums in the office if the parents do nothing about it or accuse another child; Was is or was it not okay to bring work for slow days Oxford Pediatrics said yes, Dr. Ubbes said no; Why are the books so far from the toys and windows?

Sincerely,
Jaclyn Gills

In my first Reach Out and Read experience, I volunteered to read from 1:30 pm 2:30 pm on October 14. Also reading at that time was my classmate and group member, Jessica. We began the session with no children and slowly patients trickled in with their parents. Jessica and I took turns reading to each other since none of the children wanted to be read to when we asked. In fact, a couple of families took their children into the quarantined area after sitting in the waiting room for only a few minutes. Jessica and I noticed that two of the children whose parents had taken them into the quarantined area were, in fact, listening without their parents knowledge. Whether they were shy or just werent allowed by their parents to listen Ill never know, but it was good to know that Jessica and I had the ability to pick up on that sort of thing.

Finally, within the last forty-five minutes, a little girl came in for allergy shots. She played with blocks and kind of half-listened to us read one of the books. Then, I asked if she would like to help turn pages, and she just opened up to us! I think Jessica and I learned a lot more from little Janet than she realized. It was neat that the dialogue emerged from reading the book to talking about Nickelodeon shows, pets, and little brothers. Her grandmother had brought her into the office, and I could tell by the expression on the grandmothers face at some of Janets comments that she had not realized Janet was so advanced in her thinking.

It also surprised me that as a 5 year old (thats a guess, its possible she was younger), Janet had the ability to sit through an entire reading of The Lorax! She also asked comprehensive questions about the reasons why the animals had to leave and why the Oncelor had to take all the trees. Other children took interest when they realized that Janet was participating and getting real attention from us.

I believe that kids know the difference when someone is really paying attention and cares rather than when someone is just putting in time and patronizing them. I think it means a lot in the way they open up and share things. I also think that Janets grandmother was pleasantly surprised at the results of the thirty minutes we spent with Janet, and maybe even some of the other parents were pushed to thinking about results as well.

Its a subtle chance, and usually I try to make changes big if theyre going to happen, but it got me to think as well. I look forward to the next session. Maybe bigger results are something that I just need to work on by getting a little more comfortable and outgoing.

During my second ROR trip, I experienced a few things that made me feel very uneasy and self-conscious. A family entered the pediatrics office with three young girls, approximately ages two, six, and seven. Both parents were present. The girls began to play at the LEGOS table while Jessica and I took turns reading. There was another little girl and a boy who appeared to be about eight or nine years old. The older of the familys girls wanted to play with the LEGOS that the boy was playing with and began to take them away from him. The boy protested a little, and the girl began to throw a temper tantrum. I wasnt sure if I needed to be in and be a mediator and calm things down or not&so Jessica and I waited for one of the parents to handle the situation. That was the first thing that made me feel uncomfortable.

The second was exactly how the parents handled it. The girls mother waited, and seemed to be ignoring the situation for the longest time. It was almost like she was waiting for the boys parents to handle things. Then it became clear to us all that the boys parents were not in the room. The girls mother yelled at her and when that did not work, made her sit in the chair next to her. The girl began to cry and say bad things about the boy, stomping her feet and hitting anything around her. Only after about three minutes did the mother explain the reason the girl had to sit up in the chair was for a time-out. She did not explain what for or which behavior of the girls was inappropriate. Taking a look at the sisters, they did not have much surprise or emotion about the entire episode. That gave me reason to think that it happens on a regular basis.

Jessica and I talked about the incident for a few minutes after the reading session. We could not think of any reason the girl should have been disciplined while among the rest of us. We were also mutually amazed that the father did not barely flinch while this was happening. He remained sitting completely removed from the situation, in a chair across from the LEGO table. I still am not sure how to handle the situation. Should we have stopped reading while it was going on? It was almost impossible to hear each other sitting only 3 feet away, so the children surely could not have heard us. Also, I felt this might have given the girl undue attention and perhaps even encouraged another scene.

ROR, how do I love thee, let me count the ways&Ok, really, ROR last week was outrageous! It was in the words of my little friend, Janet, too wild for me. It began rather slowly with no children at all. A couple kids trickled in, and Jessica and I were relieved that it wasnt going to be a boring session. To our surprise, Eric showed up too, to make up for a session he had missed or something. We were a little unhappy about that, which surprised me also. Seems to be a little competition between sharing kids, and any new competition for the kids attention is not exactly welcome.

That changed after about ten minutes. Thank God Eric had arrived. One woman came in with two children for appointments, and five other children in tow. One of the kids was over three years old. To our shock, and ultimate horror, the mother mistook us for babysitters and left the remaining five children in the waiting room unattended! Two of the kids headed for the bathroom, one she left with a warning not to be biting anyone, and the others she didnt say a word to.

We attempted to read, and succeeded in barely being audible over the mayhem that endued. For about five minutes I wondered if this situation was a reflection of my capability to handle a classroom, but then I realized that I will not be teaching anyone under the age of 5 or 6, and in a totally different setting!

Jessica and I tried to entertain and incorporate books as much as possible. Eric tagged along with the biter, who proceeded to jump repeatedly from the mountain in the sick area and pinch everyone over and over again. My friend, Janet, who comes in during our time weekly to get allergy shots, shied away from us because it was too crazy in there for her. For the first time, I saw her retreat to her mothers lap and barely talk to Jessica or I. Finally, after a lot of persuasion, I talked her into reading Aladdin with me, still at her mothers side.

Im not sure that it was a great day for ROR> I am not turned off by the experience at all, as Im sure it happens rarely (goodness, I hope so!) But I am shocked that the staff did not say anything to the woman who brought the children in and left them unattended, being in a doctors office and everything. I know that in my own personal experience, I would not leave one child so small unattended, let alone five of them.