A ‘Fun-loving’ Child Focuses on Math and Gets Back to Grade-level
By Eric Steckel | October 8, 2019
Your support of one-to-one tutoring gave Aadae the belief that she was smart and could master math skills.
Once you meet Aadae*, you can’t help but agree with her teacher and math tutor’s descriptions of her. Joyful. Full of life. Fun-loving. Very energetic. A people-pleaser. A precocious little girl who can “uplift you.”
At the start of her second-grade year, Aadae needed help and fast. She didn’t have the foundational math skills necessary to understand the curriculum. Her teacher Ms. Kelly Haider was concerned that she would fall even further behind. Fortunately, Ms. Haider knew just who to turn to.
Cheryl Gipson had been a Path2Math tutor for several years. She and Ms. Haider had developed a working relationship that helped them reach struggling students. “Cheryl was somebody that I knew I could give Aadae to, who I knew Aadae would not run over, who I knew would be able to help,” Ms. Haider explained.
Aadae was bright and eager to learn. Cheryl just needed to harness that youthful energy and enthusiasm. “There were some days when I had to kind of settle her down,” explained Cheryl, “But she was a very good student. She was very easy to teach because she always took the time to listen and really get what you’re talking about and how you were going about it.”
Sometimes Aadae would surprise her math tutor with more advanced math, like multiplication. “As it turns out,” Cheryl said, “one of her brothers or sisters would take the time to help her.” Cheryl was pleased to hear about the support at home and encouraged Aadae to keep asking her siblings for help.
“All they’re looking for is love, and love can really change a child’s perspective in a whole different way.”
With such a team by her side, Aadae worked hard and began helping other kids! “After learning a lot of the skills from Cheryl, she was raising her hand on her own,” Ms. Haider said. “When she got a concept and she knew another student was struggling with it, she would try to help them with it. She felt confident.”
Ms. Haider has absolutely no doubt about the importance of “that amazing group that helps with math.” She observed, “A lot of it was just Aadae having somebody else in her corner rooting for her. That’s what Cheryl really was able to be, she was able to be that friend and mentor.”
“Sometimes you don’t know how much it really can impact little kids, because little kids are just innocent, and all they’re looking for is love,” explained Cheryl, “And love can really change a child’s perspective in a whole different way.”
*Name changed to maintain confidentiality
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