What I Saw in a Former Student Broke My Heart

This week, something tugged at my heart, after school while working on tutoring I saw one of my former students. She was once so upbeat- full of energy, smiles, and confidence. But this time she seemed different, she looked weighed down. She confided in me that her grades weren’t good. When I glanced at her progress report, I felt a pang of sadness, this was a child I once knew as joyful and capable, now struggling under the weight of expectations.

As I looked at the assignments for her grade, my heart sank even more. In fourth grade, she has to memorize 20 spelling words along with their definitions. On top of that, she has a seperate list of vocabulary words to memorize. Piles of work, list on lists, tasks that feel more about performance than about true learning. And it makes me wonder: Is this really helping our kids?

It’s no surprise that later, by them time students reach middle school, many are not reading well, or not even wanting to read. We often hear of alarming reports about struggling readers in grades six through eight. But perhaps part of the answer lies in what happens earlier: when reading becomes a burden instead of a joy, when children spend more time memorizing lists than actually falling in love with books.

Reading is not just about decoding or memorizing definitions, it’s about imagination. It’s about connecting with a character, laughing at a funny moment, or feeling your heart race as you turn the page. When children lose that, they lose the fuel that keeps them motivated to grow as readers. I believe children need more than endless spelling tests. They need opportunities to read stories that light them up, to talk about what they notice, to write about what excites them. They need choice, joy, and connection in their literacy journeys.

Seeing my former student reminded me: grades may rise and fall, but the love of learning is something worth protecting fiercely. If we want strong readers in middle school and beyond, we have to make sure that in the earlier years, reading is still about joy, not just memorization.