The Power of Imitation

One day I boarded a city bus and found a seat near the back. In the last row sat a young black boy of about six years, his round face gleaming and soft like butter. Around him sat his teenage protectors, sitting sideways in their seats looking at him. As I gazed at the passing cityscape, I listened to their conversation and realized I had dropped in on an impromptu study session.

“Say ‘Fuck’,” a teenager said.

“Fuck,” the boy repeated sweetly.

The teens hooted and hollered, startling him. Say it again, they instructed. He smiled timidly and did as he was told. Again the teens whooped and his eyes blinked rapidly.

I felt sick to my stomach thinking how the lesson and the ones likely to follow would limit his ability to rise and prosper in our society.

Sometime later I picked through the pages of Darwin’s “The Descent of Man.” He describes humans as “a social animal” exhibiting love, sympathy and “the capacity for self-command”. These social instincts “conquer” less persistent instincts such as that of self-preservation. This explains, he argues, cases where a man or even a young boy, who has never risked his life for another, “but full of courage and sympathy”, risks his own life to save a drowning stranger.

Darwin goes on to describe “the senses and the intuitions, the various emotions and faculties, such as love, memory, attention, curiosity, imitation, reason, etc.” that humans exhibit and which may also be found to some degree in animals. All these help a species to succeed in the competition for survival, he says.

Darwin caused me to reconsider the mobile classroom. The child, through imitation of his teenage tutors, was stretching his language skills and being prepared for a larger world, though I’d expect an elder to rebuke him when he recites his lesson too soon too eagerly too well.

The lesson may prepare him for the streets but will there be someone to help his language skills at a higher level?

***

The ability to read well is the foundation for success in modern life. I decided to help children falling behind in this skill by working with the non-profit Reading Partners program, which matches volunteers to eligible children.

Eligible kids for this program are defined as lower income, between 1^st and 5^th grades and one to two grades behind in reading skills. Adults and teenagers possessing common skills can help coach these youngsters through a critical point in their education. Reading Partners volunteers helped 855 students across California during the 2008-2009 school year.

I volunteered in the middle of the spring session in March and tutored a 4^th grade boy for forty-five minutes twice a week until summer break.

I signed up through the Reading Partners website and attended an orientation not far from home. There, we learned about the program and how we’d work with our students. Fingerprints were taken and transmitted to the Department of Justice. In less than two weeks I was cleared and had been assigned to the Sanchez Elementary School, only a five-minute bus ride from home.

Study sessions are structured and vary depending on the student’s skill level. Generally, the student selects any book from the study room shelves, which the tutor reads aloud for about ten minutes. Then the tutor and student address a study packet containing at least two exercises and two or three storybooks. After working on the exercises, the student chooses one of the storybooks to read. The tutor coaches him as he reads and observes his progress. Throughout the session, imitation and exposure to new material expand the student’s abilities.

Tutors are charged with making reading a fun and enjoyable experience, so there are various kinds of books and games in the study room to capture the student’s interest.

A Reading Partners site director interacts with the school, evaluates students and coordinates volunteers. The director knows all the students and ensures that tutors and students adhere to the program.

Summer break ends in September at Sanchez. I don’t know if I’ll have the same child but I found the experience highly rewarding. I wanted to leave a positive imprint on future society and found myself a beneficiary in the present one.

Anyone wanting to volunteer should visit the Reading Partners website. Other programs may be found via an Internet search. If you prefer working with adults, the local library may have a literacy program.