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Arts Leadership: Empowering the Soul
“Little teaches little.”
That’s what the passing librarian called me when I was with Rebecca.
Rebecca was a second grader I tutored every Thursday from 3:45pm to 4:45pm in the Iroquois Public Library. She was a Korean-Canadian like me, but she did not speak any Korean and poor English. A daughter of a missionary, she knew her mother could not provide her with the financial support for extra help. Somehow, however, serendipitously I met Rebecca.
With one hour, two books per week, fifty-two Thursdays, and lots of jolly ranchers, Rebecca transformed into a bold, independent woman. This shy girl who remained silent for the first month of sessions was chosen by her teacher to present her speech in front of her class at the end of the year ceremony.
“So, what? Are you trying to tell us that you teach English well?”
Negative, friends. I am sharing the ground-shaking power of Arts Leadership.
With Rebecca, I spent time reading to her and asking her to draw what she understood from her weekly reading assignments. I realized that this was most effective after I assigned summaries after reading her books, but she never did them. I tried to reward her with candy, but still, she wasn’t interested. The fundamental problem was her lack of confidence in not only her…
