Week Three (Esperanza)-Layla Rhymes with Shayla

This week at Esperanza I had the pleasure of meeting 6th grader Layla. Layla is a very sweet and shy girl, unable to even say hi as she walks into Esperanza each day.Being shy myself, I was excited to work with Layla and discover the girl hidden inside: what a pleasant surprise! She's a very funny girl, and she's passionate about many things. By tutoring her, I am learning that she is a very smart girl. After only reading a chapter once, she is able to recall word-for-word several lines from the book (Holes by Luis Sachar) that we are currently reading together. However, due to her old school, there are some holes in her learning. For example, when doing math, she has learned long division before, but because that school encourages children to use calculators because some of the teachers have "given up" on trying to teach these essential skills, she doesn't remember how to do long division because she hasn't had enough practice.

Today,I found out that she wants to be a fashion designer or a model when she grows up! I am very interested in the fashion industry, so I enjoyed getting to research the fashion industry with her. I fully intend on bringing her fashion magazines to look at during lunch! :D Getting to work one-on-one with Layla has been the best part of my project so far because I enjoy working with her and uncovering the secret treasures that she has hidden inside her!