I was a struggling single mom looking around for a way to
earn a few extra bucks. Between child support and disability
and what I could pick up in the way of very part time music
and writing jobs, we were getting by, my son and I, but
there was never enough. I found job hunting discouraging,
but on a better day, when I could muster enough of a spirit
of optimism to make some cold calls, once in a while that
method would produce something hopeful. I was having such a
day when I called the local community college and heard
there was an opening for tutors..
I had never been a tutor, but thought I could give it a
shot. I had been a good student in school, and though not
dedicated, I found it easy to do what needed to be done to
get good grades, good enough to get on the honor roll at
least, and good enough that studying wasn’t stressful for
me. I still had time to major in dating and to do other
things I really wanted to. I’ve been blind all my life and
so applied to be a tutor of disabled students. I was
accepted, told I would be paid nine dollars an hour and that
many of my students would be learning disabled. I decided to
start with being a tutor of reading comprehension and study
skills.
My first student was dyslexic. For her, reading was truly
a slow and laborious chore. She had to read her assignments
out loud to me and I was awestruck by how hard she had to
work just getting the words sounded out, let alone trying to
comprehend what she just read. She had to invent and look
for anything she could do to get extra credit just to pass.
Under those circumstances, I never would have continued with
my schooling.
As a blind person, I know how it feels not to be able to
read, but for me, there was no shame coupled to it because I
really could read easily, as long as what I read was in
Braille. I wasn’t illiterate and didn’t feel
embarrassed when I needed the assistance of others to
complete something in print that needed to be hand written.
I couldn’t read because my eyes didn’t function
properly. It was obvious just because I carried a white
cane.
My student, however, had felt for years a secret shame that
she was defective in some way because she couldn’t grasp
reading as easily as others had. I was able to get her
hooked into reading by listening, and show her that she
could, with the help of a doctor or other professional, take
advantage of the learning materials that were available to
me from the government, such as talking books
Once she grasped and comprehended the material she was
required to read, my student found studying much easier. I
got to show her what was important and what wasn’t. We
talked about cause and effect relationships of events to
each other when it came to studying history and politics,
and how to find the answers to those boring end of the
chapter questions.
Later, as we got more comfortable personally with each
other, I encouraged her to start writing her thoughts down.
I truly enjoyed and got really excited about helping her
express herself when it came to describing a childhood event
in her family and how it had affected her. Up until this
time, experiencing the world through the reading and writing
of the written word was foreign to my student. With her now
newfound way to experience life, she had a way to think for
herself and I got to help!
by Nancy Keiser
Nancy is in Metro Detroit and has written for National Publications.
PDF 
