Ice Cream Man: We Need to Tell our Stories

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I volunteer to help kids with literacy.  I showed up on a recent day and was asked if I’d be willing to work with a special needs child because the specialist had to call out.  Happy to do so I soon found myself in a secluded part of a hallway listening to a little boy read about a tour of an ice cream factory.

The nature of the program means the volunteers and students find places to sit together which may be in an overcrowded room with a cacophany of voices or in a hall where students changing classes walk by.

At one point he looked at me and asked “Why so many screams?”

This was after watching him struggle with the fact he was trying to form the thought.  Telling him to take his time seemed to help him relax and articulate what was on his mind.

Why So Many Screams?

I immediately picked up his concern over the word scream but also knew he lacked context.  I quickly explained it was a childhood rhyme.

I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream.

I suspected my explanation didn’t fly because he wasn’t familiar with the rhyme so I quickly explained it was something kids would call out when chasing the ice cream man.  This necessitated I explain what the ice cream man was.

And why kids would be chasing him.

I admit – I have not seen or heard an ice cream man in all the years I’ve lived in this region of the country but that didn’t stop me from telling this sweet boy

“I’m old.  When I was little in Michigan my friends and me would chase the ice cream man – you could hear him coming by the music in his truck – yelling “I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream.”

I watched him think over the honest explanation then slowly nod.  And then he smiled.

A beautiful smile that lit up his features.

He said “I can’t wait to tell my mom.”

I don’t know if his mom is a translplant from another part of the country – maybe a place where she grew up hearing the telltale sound of an ice cream truck coming in her direction – but it reinforces my belief that we need to share stories with our kids

and grandkids …

I saw first hand how the lack of knowledge confused and alarmed.

We need to tell our stories

To share wisdom and give context.

And to reassure.

Life Balance Starts Early

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I’ve been volunteering to help kids with literacy.  

I work with 2nd graders from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.

A recent blunder helped me become aware of something I believe we can all appreciate.

If not learn from.

I alternate volunteer dates with a partner and because I messed up I wound up showing up on the same day as my partner.  Knowing there were more kids than volunteers I offered to stay and be an extra.

I figured the teachers would assign me somewhere I could be useful.

While one of the sessions – we do three 30-minute sessions – stands out – it’s actually what I learned after the mistake that drives this post.

Stand Out

We were waiting to start the third session when the teacher overseeing the program asked if I’d be willing to work with a student whose reading specialist had to call off.  Naturally I was cool with it.

She advised me that while he may read he may need me to read to him.

Shortly after finding a relatively secluded space to read

Most of us hang out in a hall or in a room where we have to try to work with students while ignoring a cacophany…

I noted the student was barely above See Spot Run level.

He was behind by about 1.5 years.

Locked Inside

The first thing that stood out was that this sweet kid was so intelligent but frustrated because he  had some sort of “wall” between what he was thinking and what he was able to articulate.

A high functioning autistic perhaps?

I did what I could to assure him I was in no rush and was perfectly willing to wait while he gathered his thoughts.  We had a great session and at one point I did ask if he wanted me to read.

He was tired and I considered that though he seemed really comfortable with me he might be a bit stressed because I wasn’t his normal “reader.”

It was a perfect session and while I felt wonderful it isn’t the session that inspired me to write this.

Both Ends of the Spectrum.

In some sessions it’s one-on-one with a student but in others it’s two-to-one.  It was while in the two-to-one I came to see a classic example of equilibrium.

A state in which opposing forces or influences are balanced.

Too Fast Cancels Too Slow

Basic math.

While both students in my third session are amazing it occurred to me that they made other sessions stand out because they brought them into balance.

They were ahead of the “average” whereas the others were a bit behind.

I suddenly realized why the teachers so appreciated the volunteers.

Which include a fireman and many others from all walks of life.

By us working with standouts from one end of the spectrum or another we allowed the teacher to work with the norm which allowed the class to progress smoothly.

The Lesson?

Extremes bring the middle into balance.

And makes for harmony.