Learning while Teaching

I used to think I was a good teacher. At my high school I was a teacher Intern for the dance classes. I did a great job at keeping the classes focused when teaching. I was one of the few teacher Interns that the students respected and would listen to. Thus I thought I was really cool and could teach anyone anything if I knew it really well. I thought I had patience, discipline, fun and respect all balanced out. When I went to the South Franklin community center, I was greatly humbled.
The boy I had to tutor did not have a very high reading capability. It was suggested that I write one syllable words down on a white board and help him sound it out. With a game plan in my head, I write down a few simple words on a white board and have him sound it out. Little did I realize that this would cause the boy so much agonizing pain that he would run away and whimper in the corner. I looked over to see another boy reading his book. Why wouldn't this boy do the same thing? Why would he erase whatever I wrote on the whiteboard and laugh? Why would he suffer excruciating pain almost to the point of death every time I asked him to pronounce a one syllable word?
As I wondered what to do, I noticed the boy's eyes spotted the infamous game Candyland on the table. Suddenly he jumped up and scurried over to bring out the board and pieces. Now I had the means to bargain. After writing a list of various words on the whiteboard, I told him as soon as he read out loud all of the following words, we all could play a game and race to King Kandy's castle. While he laying on his back, I held the words over his head so he slowly pronounced the sounds of each letter and figured out each word. It wasn't long after he finished was the game set up and found myself pulling cards and moving my marker a long the colorful Candyland road.
What I learned was there is no single method that works for everyone. With different ages comes different strategies. With different strategies comes different experiences. We will continue to learn from these new experiences even after we have everything "figured out."