How do you teach a teenager how to read?

Two months to learn how to read.

Where do you start?

First with letter sounds: A, B, C, D…what the hell kind of sound does X make? It took me a few weeks to realize that Z is pronounced “Zetta.” I’m learning as I go.

Next step vowels: A, E, I, O, U. Sometimes Y is definitely too complicated. How do you help someone with a heavy accent get these sounds right? Long and short vowels, which one is which? Thank god for the internet.

Let’s try some combined sounds: Ch, Sh, Th, Ing, Er…but sometimes “er” is written “re” here. If I don’t know it, how do I teach it?

We need games, they make it fun. Matching games, computer games, memory games. But all these games are for little kids, my student is 16. I want to treat him with a sense of dignity. Looks like I’ll have to search a bit harder and create some of my own.

Now it’s time for words. Let’s start with the “100 most common words in the English language.” Thanks Wikipedia. Flashcards. They’re amazing. Let’s go through them once, let’s go through them again, separate the words we struggle with the most and go through them one last time.  

Time for a book. First the most basic book, for toddlers almost. We struggled, words were hard. We have to learn to sound them out. What sound does that “b” make…no, that’s a “d” sound I said a “b!”  Okay, on to the next book, we’ll take turns reading, I’ll help you sound out the words.

How do you teach a teenager how to read?

Step by step I worked with my student after school. Once we started a few weeks after I arrived at City Mission Educational Service he stayed nearly every day. We’d go to an empty classroom, sit at a desk. I’d take out two pieces of fruit, usually bananas, one for me, one for him. “Wow thanks! It’s beautiful!” was the typical response. Then we’d start. How do you teach a teenager how to read? I didn’t know. I made it up as I went along, sometimes right there on the spot. Progress was slow, but eventually I started to see it. All of a sudden we had the letter sounds down and we could move on, then all of a sudden words were coming with greater ease.

My time tutoring my student after school came to an end on Tuesday. The past few sessions we had been really practicing actual reading rather than the basics that we had spent so much time on. He would read a simple book, the same one three days in a row, and I would read a chapter in other, longer book. Our lessons culminated with his biggest book yet, one that had a lot of “big words.” We started off alternating pages. He was doing great and I kept telling him how proud of him I was. Then, all of a sudden, he skipped my turn. He wanted to keep reading. Page after page he read, until almost the very end of the book, when it was finally my turn again. He sounded out words he wasn’t familiar with, and the best part is, he wasn’t just reading words, he was reading a story and he comprehended it. Every once in awhile I’d ask him what was going on in the story and he could articulate it back. It was amazing. All the hours were paying off and were being justified right in front of me. I can’t even begin to describe the feeling.

This kid has stolen my heart. I spent countless hours with him after school, reading, talking, laughing. We spent just as many hours outside of school going to soccer matches, the aquarium, the movies, bowling, and for walks. We have possibly the most opposite lives that anyone could have but somehow somewhere along the way he became like a brother to me. He has inspired me and influenced me in ways that I cannot put words to. All I know is that he will be forever with me, in everything that I do for the rest of my life.

The days are winding down here and goodbyes are becoming more frequent. Today was my last day at my internship, which meant I had a few dozen students whom I spent the past three months getting to know to say goodbye to. Not to mention all the teachers who helped me so much along the way. Later in the evening we had a big Thank You dinner for all our internship supervisors. Two of my fellow students were asked to say thank you on behalf of all of us, and well, sometimes others can just say things better than you can. This is an untitled poem written by Nicole Hellthaler that is a perfect summary of my time in Cape Town.

No one wants to be cliché

But I feel I have no choice

Because before I even realize

These words escape my voice.

We have found ourselves

And lost ourselves

And found ourselves again.

We have broken down

Been beaten down

And learned the value of a friend.

Our eyes have been opened wider

Forming a new lens

Of how the world should be

And what we want to mend.

We have literally climbed mountains,

To realize there are many more.

This time however is different,

We are stronger than before.

We have formed bonds so important

That we will never be the same.

It’s not easy to say goodbye,

And you are all to blame.

A thank you is in order,

Even though you can never be repaid.

Instead of mourning our goodbyes

Let’s enjoy the rest of today.

Goodbyes are never easy, just as she said. Leaving for this semester was difficult, but the goodbyes were only temporary. We could literally count the months, weeks, days, seconds until we would see each other again. These goodbyes on the other hand have much greater sense of permanency to them. I would love to come back to South Africa, but who knows when that will ever happen. So as I get more and more excited to reunite with everyone back home, I will also be struggling to say goodbye to those who have affected me in so many ways here in Cape Town.