inspiring

Today we had parent teacher conferences at my school. It was a busy day, with parents missing appointments then squeezing in later in the day so that I had a line down the hall. In the grand scheme of things though, 15 out of my 18 students' families showed up for the big day (I even completed my final conference in Spanish - always exciting for me). My other three students ended up having to go out of town for family emergencies and so I will check in with them tomorrow afternoon since they are all pick-ups.

When I was talking with my neighboring teacher during a break from the madness, she told me one of the most incredible stories ever. Below is my paraphrasing of this story.

My student's grandmother came in today for her conference and expressed how excited she was that her granddaughter was learning how to read. The grandmother had gone to school and struggled to complete the third grade. When she stopped going to school she also stopped reading.

Now that this woman's granddaughter wants to read, she is needing to learn how to read once again. She pre-reads all of the stories that she will read to her granddaughter and then walks the 1/4 mile down the road to ask her neighbor what the words are. Then she practices so that she can read her granddaughter a bedtime story. The woman expressed that she is beginning to remember the words now and that she is learning how to read again.

How amazing is it that a kindergarten student can inspire an elderly woman to take an interest in reading and re-learn this valuable skill? I feel inspired, to say the least.