A Child that Touched My Heart

I was doing a pre-student teaching placement at a local elementary school in 2nd grade.  There was a boy in this class whom the teacher had informed me would most likely not do well in any area, seeing as he had some serious issues going on at home and was frequently absent.  As my time there went on and I began taking on more subjects to teach, I noticed that this boy showed a little more interest in reading than in other areas, but only when he was being read to.  I made an effort to read more stories aloud so that he would stay interested.  After reading aloud, I would let the children read the story again on thier own.  While doing this I would alway make an effort to talk to this child about the story, to get an idea of his comprehension level.  Turns out he comprehended on a very high level, but struggled with reading on his own.  I began working with him one on one a little and by the end of my placement he had brought his grade from a D to a B.  On the last day of my placement the child came to me and hugged me and said he had never had a teacher like him before.  This made me cry, and of course made me realize that sometimes all a child needs is to be liked, shown a little attention, and who knows what they can do.