I’m really enjoying my new part-time job as an “interventionist aide” at Custer County school, but I don’t care for the job title. During the interview for the position, I actually told the principal and special ed director that I would rather be called the reading and math “coach.”
My thinking was that I’m already the running coach — so running, reading, 'rithmatic could be the Three Rs. They apparently liked this idea as I was hired for the job.
Basically my duties include monitoring speech therapy sessions that are now all online, and then helping students in the areas of reading and math. Language arts are obviously my strong points. I am no math wiz but I was fairly capable with math in high school, and took “Calculus for Business Majors” at the University of Colorado.
The first weeks have been learning my way with the job, talking with teachers about how to help specific students, and trying to devise ways to motivate kids to want to learn. I’ve also been helping out with the middle-school “academic success” hour, which amounts to a study hall for kids who need to improve their grades.
In these first weeks I’ve seen it all: Kids who know how to do their work but just need help getting organized, kids who actually need some one-on-one instruction, and some kids who just don’t care.
Ironically, I’ve found myself working out more math problems than reading assignments, but it’s all good. Some question why I signed up for this. It’s clearly not for the money. The school has been good to us these past 14 years and I want to give back in some small way. Plus, making a positive impact on a young person’s life is rewarding, and something I am grateful to have to opportunity to do.