What Joanna taught me

Joanna always wore a smile from ear to ear, although slightly crooked and off to a side, it was there, that grin shinning through. Truly amazing girl, that Joanna. She stood in front of the class today with her mother looking on, rocking back and forth oh just a little bit, anxious for her turn. As I placed the magnetic flashcards up on the whiteboard to make a simple sentence, she waited, and rocked.
Without a word I put up each flashcard one by one. She follows the flashcards with her eyes:

Mother- is -in -the -red –car- with –the- little –girl.

“Will you read this for me please, Joanna?” She nods. As she points to each word and reads it to herself, the class knows to wait silently. She acts as the illustrator of this tiny story and needs to gather all the magnetic graphics that match the sentence. She reads silently and collects a graphic of a mother, a red car and a little girl. She turns proudly to the class and to her own mother; they applaud their friend’s success.

Mom cries.

Joanna at birth had had a stroke. Her mother was told repeatedly; Joanna would not ever walk let alone learn to read.

So guess who shows up in middle of the afternoon? Yup, Dad.

“Mom says Joanna can read.” He was a big guy, looming in the doorway, he came for proof. Naturally, proud Joanna stands up and goes to the board. I place a new sentence up.

The- boy -and -girl –are- with –the- brown -dog. Joanna points to each word but this time she speaks.
“The father and mother are with the brown cat.”

Her father shoots me a look of disapproval, as if to say ‘I left work for this???’ I explain to him to wait, just give her a moment. Then Joanna gathers all the correct  graphics: a boy, a girl and a brown dog.

Dad cries.

Dad cries, because not only can Joanna read, she comprehends. And he wonders, how often was she disregarded because of the assumption that she was confused, when in fact, she simply could not find and verbalize the correct word? Joanna's life and the perception her family held of her forever was altered.

Determination coupled with an open mind can bring positive monumental changes to a child's life.