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

Dear Colleague,
I chose the Oxford ROR program because I was to gain experience in working with children as well as relating with parents. I also wanted to be involved in a program like this that is nationally recognized and so beneficial for children. Through this experience I gained an appreciation for the importance of reading to children at a very young age and the importance of parent and child interactions. I also gained experience with reading to children as well as communicating with parents. I was able to progressively become more open and less nervous about these interactions. One of the last thing I was able to take from this experience is a lot of wonderful conversations with children who brightened my days. My remaining questions include: Why haven't more colleges become involved in this program? How can I get involved with this again in the future? Lastly: Why are there so few books at the Oxford Pediatrics?

Sincerely,
Kelli Zubovich

My first day at the Oxford ROR was on Wednesday, October 6, from 1:30 until 2:30. My partner for this time period is Meagan Paschal. When I first got to the Oxford Pediatrics Center I was really nervous. I was not sure how to go about approaching the children and it took Meagan and I a couple of minutes to get up the nerve to ask the first child to read with us. I was really relived to have Meagan there for support because I would have been twice as nervous if I would have been by myself. The first child we asked did not want to read with us. Her mother explained to us that she had an earache and was not feeling well. We spoke with this mother for a while, while we were waiting for more children to come in. We explained to her what this program was and that each child was to receive a free book for every well child check-up. She then told us that she had never received a book from the doctor for any of her four children and that she had been going to this doctor since her first child was born. I hope that the information that we gave her was correct, but we did find a brochure, provided for the parents, and gave it to her. I am concerned that she has not gotten any books for her children.

After about two more refusals we finally found a child that would read with us. Once she came over with us, a couple more children decided to join the group. This was really encouraging. I was afraid that I was approaching the children wrong. Even after this, I was still really apprehensive about going up to the children. I think the reason for this was because I was not sure how the parents would react or even how to approach the parents. I didnt know if I should ask them first or simply just ask the child. (I ended up doing both) By the end of the hour I felt much more relaxed. I am still really uncomfortable about approaching the parents with the really small infants. There were two there when Meagan and I were there but we did not bring any board books so we decided not to approach them. I am really not sure how to go about doing this. Other than this aspect I am feeling a little better about going to read next week. I know I will still be nervous but at least now I know what to expect.

My second experience with ROR on Wednesday, October 13th did not go as well as my first day. I know that some days are going to be better than others so I am hoping that my next visit will go better. There were not many children that came through the office while we were there and those that did were not really interested in reading a book with us. I think that many children enjoy playing with all of the fun toys in the waiting room and when weighing this option with reading a book, many of the children would rather play. One child even asked his mom if he could stay for a while after the doctor visit just so that he could play with the toys a little longer. I am still having a difficult time approaching the children in the waiting room. I feel intimidated by some of the parents even though I know that most of them will probably not mind if I read to their child. I am also still really unsure about how to go up to the parents with the infants. I am really uncomfortable with that. Hopefully, with time, this apprehension will reside.

I did receive a phone call this past Saturday from the director of ROR from Lane Library. She explained to me that she had read my evaluation sheet, that we fill out after every session, and she was concerned about our comments about how we had not seen any books being given out and that we had talked to a mother who said that she had never received a book. She explained to me that the program has only been around for a year and that the books are only given out on well child visits, basically what we had talked about in class. Although we had already discussed this issue in class, I was glad to see that those papers are read and that she would actually take the time out to physically call and answer my questions.

When I went to read this week for ROR I was a little apprehensive. Last week we were not able to read to a single child so that was a little frustrating. This week was a definite improvement. Although most of the children who came in were either too old for us to read to or they were not in the waiting room long enough to read a book with us, we were still able to read at least to one child. The little boy that we read to was great and definitely made our time there worthwhile. It is easy to feel like you are not making a difference when you spend your time in the doctors office without even reading to one child but this young boy quickly restored my faith in the program. When I first asked him to read he was a little apprehensive but when I told him he could pick out any book that he wanted to read he decided to give it a try. We were able to read two books together. I let him turn the pages and I think he really enjoyed that. He was able to name some of the animals in the story and point to some of the characters that I asked him about. He was pretty quiet but he seemed to be having a good time. Unfortunately, we did not have time to finish the second book. Then on his way out of the office he asked his mom if he could stay a read more books with us. Just with this simple comment I was able to see, even clearer, the benefits of this program. He actually wanted to stay and read more books. I hope that his mother was also able to see this as an opportunity to read to her son at home since she was able to see that he was interested in reading some more. I can definitely see how this program could bring about more literacy just by simply raising awareness and getting parents to think about it.

This past week at Roar was my best yet. When I first got to the office there were about four infants in the waiting room and only one little girl to whom we could read. She had come along with her little sister. When we first asked her to read she was ready and willing. She picked out the book she wanted to hear and after we read that book her sisters name was called but instead of going back her mom asked her if she wanted to stay and she said yes. She picked out book after book and when all of our books were read, we went on to the books that were already in the waiting room. She was pretty quiet but I could tell that she was really enjoying herself and that really made me feel good. It was encouraging to see a child enjoy reading and listening to books so much. We read to her for most of the time that we were there. She did not get tired of reading the books with us once. While we were reading to her a few other children came in and before we had a chance to ask them if they wanted to read they had asked their parents to read to them. I did not want to interrupt these parent-child interactions with books. I decided that as long as the children were reading, it did not matter with whom. I thought it might be even better coming from the parents. Towards the end of our time at the office a little boy came in with his mother and sister. When I asked him if he wanted to read with us he said that he would but that he could read the book to us. So we, including the first little girl, all listened. As he went through the book he was looking at the pictures and telling us the story from the pictures. He did a really good job. I am guessing that he was around three years old. He had a good grasp of vocabulary and seemed to be really bright. His mother helped him to read to us by pointing to certain pictures and prompting him by asking him questions to go along with the pictures. She did a really great job with this and it was interesting to see this interaction. She would make a wonderful teacher. Through our conversation with the mother we found out that this young boy was a foster child and that he suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He was also one of eight other children living in his home. This amazed me. The mother told us that he had made great strides and he was doing very well for a child who was faced with this problem. That woman must have been a great teacher and person.

Unfortunately I was not able to read to anyone at ROR this week. Most of the children that came in were older. The smaller children that did come in were called back before we had a chance to ask them to read with us. Although we did not get to read to any children this week, I still enjoyed watching the older children in the waiting room. I was surprised at how many picked up another book or magazine to read or had brought a book with them to read. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the mother that I had talked to the previous week at ROR and wrote about in my response. This time she brought in two different children form the previous visit. I did not get to speak with her very long but I really admire that woman for what she has done to help those children. Hopefully I will get a chance to speak with her another time and find out a little bit more.

I am beginning to agree with some of the other students in our health class about possibly rearranging the waiting room so that the books are closer to the toys and the readers are stationed near the toys as well. I really think that this would make it easier to approach the children. I know that I can sit over there now and I think that I will try this next time and see if it makes things easier for me. I am also interested to see just how much things will pick up now that it is November and the slow month is over. Overall it is getting a little easier for me to approach the children but the first one in each session is always the hardest. I really need to get over that awkward feeling around the parents. I guess I am always a little apprehensive because I am not sure how they will react, but I think that this is getting a little better as well.

This past visit at ROR was pretty uneventful. Meagan and I did not get a chance to read with anyone because the children that came in were either too old, too young, or too shy. Well, I actually did start to read with one little girl but while I was reading to her, her aunt, who is a nurse in the office, came out to see her. Therefor I only got to read with her for a minute or two. Although we did not get to read to any children, we did get to talk with a couple of parents while we were waiting. One mother asked us what we were doing and what ROR was all about. We told her what we knew and she seemed pretty interested. We were also able to talk with one father. His daughter was about three years old and was really shy. She stared at Meagan and I the entire time that she was in the waiting room but she refused to read with us, or even talk to us for that matter. Her dad explained to us that this was really unusual for her and that she never stopped talking at home. He then went on to tell us that when she was born she was three months early and only weighed around three pounds. He called her his little miracle. I really enjoy this part of ROR. I love to read to the children but it is always so interesting to talk to parents as well. I love to listen to the wonderful stories about their children and to see the love they have for their children in the ways that they talk about them and how they talk to their children. Parents can be such great teachers and I enjoy watching them interact with their children.

This week at ROR was pretty slow. Most of the children that did come in were sick and sat in the ill children area so I only got to read with one child. The child that I did read to was a little boy around five or six and he came in with his mother. He sat down right next to me so I asked him if he would like to read with me or if he would like to read a story to me. He said that he could read and he picked out the book, My Friends. When he first started reading the book he read though it with ease and I praised him for the great job he was doing. Then as I paid closer attention to his reading I noticed that he was not really looking at the words. Then his mother began to point to the words that he was missing and telling him to sound them out. She then began to tell me how they were having a really hard time of teaching him to read. She said that she had thought that he was reading on his own and then she began to realize that he was simply memorizing the books and then recalling them from memory when he would read it. He would also look to the pictures for help as well. They read through that book together and as I watched them I could see the little boy get really frustrated every time his mother would try to correct him, but she was really persistent and was not willing to give up. I could see that this was something that they had to battle with often. The mother had many great techniques to help him sound out the words. It seemed as though someone had taught her to how to help her son. She did a really great job.

After about 10-15 minutes the little boy was called back. He thanked me for the books and went back with his mother. I wished I could have helped more but I think that his mother probably did I better job than I could have. When the little boy came out he said goodbye but then about five minutes later they came back because they had forgotten to get something. As they went to walk out again the little boy asked if he could stay and read another book and his mother let him. This time he asked her to read with him after I tried to help him sound out the title, so she read through the book with him. Overall I am really glad that I had the opportunity to watch this interaction and to see how well this mother was able to work with her child.

I cannot believe that this was my last day to read for ROR. The weeks just seemed to fly by. My last experience at Oxford Pediatrics was basically a great deal like my previous visits. Unfortunately most of the children that came in were older kids but we did get an opportunity to read to two little ones for a couple of minutes. The first child that came in was a little boy around two and he was really engrossed in his toys so Meagan and I decided to let him play for a few minutes before we asked him to read with us. Then about five minutes later a little girl around three or four came in so Meagan and I took this chance to ask both of the children at once if they wanted to read with us. At first they were both a little apprehensive but when the little girls mother said that she would sit by her, she decided to come over and the little boy followed. We read for a few minutes and then the little girl was called back to see a doctor. We tried to continue to read to the little boy but he lost interest and wanted to go play with the toys. We did get an opportunity to tell a parent about the program. I always feel like I accomplish more when I get to tell others about what the program is about.

Overall I am glad that I got an opportunity to volunteer for this program. It is such a worthwhile contribution to the lives of children and I am glad that I got the chance to be a part of it. I also gained a great deal from ROR as well. I got an opportunity to talk with parents and get over some of the jitters that I have about that. I also gained more experience in working with children. I am going to be reading to children for a great many years to come and this was a great way to gain practice. I had to learn how to keep the childrens attention (or at least try) through the distractions that are present in a waiting room and I know that I will definitely have to use this ability in my future classroom. I got to talk to a couple of amazing parents who provided me with a glimpse into their lives and showed me what kinds of contributions that people have to offer. Lastly I got to work with children who brightened my days with their laughter and through their thorough enjoyment of the books that I provided them. I hope that I was able to give as much to these children as they gave to me.