Notes: Thanks to Mari and Sammy for being their always awesome selves!
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Hope you enjoy!
A Hundred More (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
"Jacob, I'm so sorry," Elizabeth said as she came into the K-2 tutoring room after speaking with a parent. "That took longer than I thought. Are you ready to go?"
"No problem, Aunt Elizabeth," came his easy-going response. "I made sure all the folders are in the right cubbies and I put the chairs up on the tables so it'll be easier for the janitors to clean the floors."
Elizabeth looked around at his work and smiled. "Oh, thank you, I know they'll appreciate that." She noticed he had a piece of paper in his hand. "What's that?"
"This? Oh … it's …" He looked at it and smiled a little awkwardly. He held it out to her. "Bryan made it for me," he said, referring to a boy who was getting some extra help at Tutor Time before starting second grade in the fall.
She took the paper in hand and looked at the picture. "Is this you and him?" she asked, pointing to two stick fingers, one substantially bigger than the other.
"Yeah, we're high-fiving. And that's a dinosaur. He really likes dinosaurs," Jacob said, grinning. "And all the stars at the top are because he says he's going to get lots of stars on his papers at school because I've helped him with his reading."
"Oh, Jacob, honey, that's wonderful," she said, wrapping one arm around his shoulders in a side hug. "You have really made a positive impression on him. On all the kids here," she said, nodding to the tables around the room.
While there were adult tutors trained to work with the children on literacy and math, Jacob was one of the student tutors who sat with kids to keep them on track, assist when they got stuck, and provide encouragement throughout the tutoring sessions.
"I really like doing it," Jacob said, smiling broadly.
She smiled back. "I had a feeling you would. From everything I've seen and heard, you're a natural."
"You know, even though I was real excited when you asked me to be a student tutor, I was still a little nervous about doing it."
"I remember your leg bouncing in the car the first day," she admitted.
"And you said I should be myself, but if I was still nervous, to think about the different people who've helped me and what they did or said that I appreciated."
She listened, genuinely interested in what he was going to say.
"So I thought about how when Cody helped me with my homework, he never gave me the answers, even if sometimes I wished he just would," he added, smiling wryly. "He worked with me, so we were like a team learning how to solve a problem together."
She nodded, smiling at the image that conjured.
"And I thought about how when I was at your house and you'd help me, you let me know it was okay if I didn't understand something the first time. It didn't mean I'd never get it, I just needed extra practice and that was fine."
"It absolutely is."
"And Uncle Steve, I always know he believes I can do whatever he's helping me with. Like even when I was a kid and he took me go-kart racing, I knew he was looking out for me, but also that he totally believed I could do it."
She smiled. "That's Steve."
"And Aunt Catherine is the most patient person I know." His lips twisted thoughtfully. "Well, maybe you and her are tied." He grinned. "I guess that makes sense 'cause you're mom and daughter."
She chuckled. "That's not always the case, but on this I think you're right."
"I know I was kind of a wild and crazy kid sometimes, but she always listened and helped me focus just by being patient and nice."
Elizabeth smiled at how he described himself in the not-so-distant past.
"And my mom ..." Jacob smiled at that thought of his mother. "She's the best of all. I know that no matter what I do, if I get all As or … you know, not As … I know she loves me. She just wants me to try my best at everything."
"Well, you're certainly trying your best at being a great tutor, and I think here's the proof right here," Elizabeth said, holding up the drawing. She gave it back to him. "I'm glad you've been able to learn some good lessons from the people who have helped you."
He nodded, smiling.
"But the other part of my advice from your first day?" she went on. "You've done that, too."
He cocked his head to the side. "I have?"
"You have. You've added a very important quality that's all your own, and that's your genuine enthusiasm. Kids are great detectors of whether someone really wants to help them, and every time you sit down next to a student, they have your full attention and they know that. They know you're not here because you have to be, but because you want to be. And that enthusiasm you bring to the table, literally," she added with a laugh, nodding to the tables around them, "it's contagious. You get the kids excited about reading that next page or doing that next math problem."
Jacob looked at the picture that Bryan had drawn for him and smiled.
"That enthusiasm can't be taught," Elizabeth said, putting an arm around him again. "You either have it or you don't." She squeezed his shoulder. "And you have it in spades."
He smiled up at her proudly.
"So I'm counting on you to keep things going smoothly while I'm gone," she said and winked. "There's a pair of Mickey Mouse ears in it for you."
He grinned but shook his head. "I don't need any reward. I just like doing it."
Elizabeth smiled. "And that's your other superpower. You don't do this for any incentive or reward, but because you want to help. That can't be taught either. And I'll tell you something else ..."
"What?"
"I'd take a hundred more just like you anyday."
Hope you enjoyed!
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