All About Remote Reading

Everyday Tuesday at 7 p.m., my face lights up. I get to pick up the phone call my “remote reader”, a lovable, charming, and caring seven year old boy who I had the privilege of meeting this past summer at Wise Readers to Leaders. Once a week, I step out of my worries of everyday life, and listen and help my friend become a better reader. For the past couple of months, we have read about Amelia Bedelia’s ‘garden party adventures”, and have followed Jack and Annie save their dog in the Magic Tree House. Week by week, I watch my young friend grow into a better and stronger reader. This past session, our book had not arrived yet, and I needed to be creative about what we should do. We came up with a solution; I would read a book, and he would read a book. This took about fifteen minutes of the allotted time of twenty, and my reader asked for the remainder if we could chat. We spent the next half hour discussing how the planets move, and how beautiful the sky is. After that, he went on to ask me a series of questions about my life, school, friends, and even my favorite color and food! This conversation reminded me of the curiosities of the world, about how in our ever-changing present, we sometimes need to take a step back and wonder for a while about life. I am so excited to be able to wonder and learn with my friend, and I am so happy to be apart of this truly life changing program. Sometimes it takes only twenty minutes to remember that completing a few math problems on time is not going to make you a better person, but helping someone else will do just that. Not only am I able to help my friend, but he also helps me remember what is important in our busy, ever changing lives.