The Little Boy Who Could

Not the little train that could, but the little boy who could. This boy started to smile overtime, but at first he presented as shy and scared.  When it came to learning English, he would hide in the corner.  He did not want anything to do with English because his father was pressuring to him to learn it. His father sent him to four different schools because he felt their English focus was not good enough. Unfortunate for his son, he also felt his learning was just not good enough.  His little 6 year old son felt this pressure and he was scared, confused, and disinterested in English. 

**Parents who pressure their kids to succeed-don't be surprised when you see the opposite outcome.**
His father loved him very much and he only wanted the best for him, but we discussed the psychological impact this has on a child and clarity surfaced for him. 

With the little one, he was shy and scared for the first few sessions. Mrs. Teri was always putting in wonderful efforts, but I presented her with another idea.  We backed off and did not try to work with him on English.  Instead, we focused on the six other kids and lead by example. I told her we were going to make things as fun as possible and with kids speaking and engaging-the little one will come around and want to join. She looked confused and reminded me that he is very shy and does not usually engage with children. She is a very sweet young girl and this was something for her to try in the future if it does succeed. 

We started our lesson with everyone raising their hand with such eager.  We decided to take that energy outside as other children were in the library.  Miss. Teri stayed inside with the little one observing his actions. He got up and moved closer to the door and peaked his head around the side.  The next day he sat outside and was silent. The next day one or two words and received huge praise from everyone.  This positive praise lead to another great day. 

 The following day he was engaging in full repetition-great pronunciation surprising for all of us.  The next day he was rushing up to the front door with a big smile on his face and went outside being the first one to sit on the bench.  This child became a star participant and with teamwork Miss. Teri and all the kids encouraged him to speak English and be happier rather than be in fear. 
His father witnessed this happiness and his father also watched his learning and the teaching happening.
Hopefully this was an "Ah ha" moment where his father realized, he needed to stop pushing and encourage his child to learn in a happier, interactive way. 

While this sounds like an ideal situation in such a short time, it's again the power of teamwork, the power of spirit/belief in someone, persistence, and lots of experience from the soul:)