Thank You For Saving My Life by MAREN SCHMIDT

The phone rang one evening.

It was the mother of one of my former students. It is always a delight to hear from families I’ve worked with over the years. Our conversations seem to pick up a thread in the tapestry of life, adding a bright touch of color.

Carol and I visited for a while, catching up on where everyone was and what everyone was doing.

“If you have a few more minutes,” Carol said, “Steve would like to talk with you.”

Steve, my former preschool student, was 14 at the time, and I was surprised that a young man would want to talk with his preschool teacher.

“Ms. Maren,” he said, “thank you for saving my life.”

“What do you mean? I don’t remember giving you CPR,” I chuckled.

“Remember that time my mom called you after we moved away? I was about seven years old then. She told you I hated school and was struggling with reading.”

“Of course I remember. But help me connect the dots,” I said.

Steve went on to tell me that the spelling and reading help I gave his mom had made a difference.

Carol had called me when Steve was seven, concerned because he didn’t want to go to school and was suffering from chronic stomachaches, even though the doctors said everything was fine.

In just a few months, Steve had gone from being cheerful and eager to attend school to someone his mother barely recognized.

As we talked, it became clear that Steve had been struggling under the demands of a classroom that required a great deal of writing and expected him to read at grade level.

“Carol,” I said, “I have a simple spelling test that can help us diagnose the obstacles Steve is encountering right now. I’ll send you the test. Once he completes it, send me a copy and we’ll analyze it together to determine how best to help him.”

Emails and faxes went back and forth, and during a follow-up phone call we determined that Steve was missing letter-sound recognition for about seven letters, along with seven of the basic fifteen phonograms.

Carol and Steve followed the spelling program I outlined.

“I remember riding in the car to school every morning and spelling my five words to Mom,” Steve said. “We did it for a long time. And last week I received an award at school for being the best speller.”

“That’s wonderful, Steve. But I still don’t see how that saved your life.”

“When I looked out at the audience, I saw some of the kids who had been in first and second grade with me—the ones in the slow readers group. You know, the Bluebirds. They never really got better. They still struggle in school. Now I see them making choices that aren’t very good. Standing up there, I realized that without the help you gave my mom and me, I’d probably still be struggling too. So that’s how I think you saved my life.”

“Well, thank you,” I replied. “I just gave you the tools. You did the work.”

That conversation is what I call an affirmation call because it affirms that certain teaching principles work.

Carol’s careful observation helped her recognize that her unhappy child had encountered an obstacle in his development. She reached out for another perspective to better understand what might be causing the problem. Through the spelling program, we were able to give Steve a clear picture of what he needed to learn and then show him how to make steady, step-by-step progress each day. He worked independently with cards and lists, steadily increasing both his knowledge and his concentration.

Using tried-and-true teaching principles really can change lives.

Steve made me a believer.