I Was in Sixth Grade and Could Not Read
By Adeola Tella
During her first 2 years as a teacher, Adeola Tella involved her classes in the reading buddies pro-
gram discussed in chapter 4 and in the development of differentiated texts for the Great Irish Fam-
ine curriculum (see chap. 7). She was a superior student in the teacher education program and is
now an outstanding teacher. I was surprised when I learned that Adeola had had difficulty in
school and could not read until she was in sixth grade. Her story illustrates the potential for excel-
lence possessed by many students, a potential that is often ignored because of problems with lan-
guage.—Alan Singer
My mother was born in rural Jamaica in the Caribbean and my father is Yoruba from Nigeria
in West Africa. They met while my mother was a nursing student in Scotland and my father,
an engineer, was there on business. At first they went to live in the United States, where I
was born. However, when I was 2 years old, we moved to Illora, my father’s ancestral village.
I finally returned to the United States permanently when I was 12 years old.
In Nigeria I learned to speak Yoruba, though I still spoke English with my mother. School
was taught in Yoruba, and because my mother left for the United States when I was 9, that
was my primary language. Possibly because of my mixed-language background, I never re-
ally learned to read and write while in Nigeria. No one ever took the time to help me or to
find out why I was having difficulty.
When I joined my mother, we lived in a primarily African American community. I was ex-
cited to be reunited with her and to return to this country. Although we were all Black, I was
teased by the other children in school because I was from Africa. They called me “charcoal”
and claimed that I smelled “funny.” They also teased me because I was in sixth grade and
could not read.
I was placed in a regular class and the school assigned a special tutor to help me in read-
ing. By the end of the year, I had pretty much caught up with the other students in my class
and was doing very well in math. My experience is important because many people believe
that immigrants who are not literate in their home language will never learn to read and
write English well.
The next year, in middle school, students were tracked by reading scores and I was as-
signed to a remedial class. I started high school in the more advanced math class, was trans-
ferred to an academic social studies class in 10th grade, and to an academic English class in
11th grade. My mother was still concerned with my academic progress and arranged for me
to get extra help in a reading clinic at a local college.
The teasing ended in high school, partly because I fit in better, but also because with an
influx of Jamaican immigrants, our school became more diverse. My sisters and I had our
own “African” style, which was becoming popular in the Black community.
Looking back, I always wanted to be a teacher. As a little girl, I used to play school with my
dolls. But I finally decided to take the step because of my own experience. I had too many
teachers who did not care about me and made no effort to recognize my problems and fig-
ure out the help I needed. Basically the rule in school was, “If you were not smart, forget it.”
A lot of students, especially immigrants, have the same difficulties that I had. I know what
their problems are because I went through them and I know how to help them. Just because
a student is in middle school and has not yet learned how to read is no excuse to give up on
them. I know that everyone can learn.
I did have a few teachers who modeled what it means to be a good teacher. They were
passionate and interesting and would become engrossed in what they taught. I try to be like
them. I love to tell stories to capture student interest.
238 CHAPTER 9