Lulled by the soft, staccato cadence of a blooming reader, Mozart the dog encourages young readers without criticism or correction; just the soft grunts of a dozy dog.
Mozart is a 4-year-old yellow Lab, and reading time with him is a special incentive for students at Elk Creek Elementary School.
Mozart, who is a trained service dog, lies on a big green blanket while children sit next to him and read aloud from colorful books or pieces of paper. As the children become more relaxed with their reading, Mozart does too. Soon, with droopy eyelids, he’s made himself comfortable leaning up against or lying on the reader.
Mozart passes no judgment on mispronounced words and offers no advice, which is helpful to young readers like Alexandra Gunhus.
Mozart rests his chin and paws on Alexandra’s foot, and her reading pace begins to flow. When she makes a reading or pronunciation mistake, she doesn’t look up apprehensively, waiting for correction.
Mozart doesn’t look up either but snoozes on in support.
Cameron Fitzgerald, 11, reads from a piece of paper and absentmindedly strokes the thick fur on the back of Mozart’s neck. Cameron confidently and quickly finishes his reading assignment.
Chase Leyton, 10, said he now likes to read out loud because Mozart listens. Chase rewards Mozart by throwing a ball for the dog.
Robin Reynolds, special education specialist who helps students with reading improvement, loves Mozart’s visits and appreciates the canine contribution.
“With all the budget cuts, we wouldn’t be able to help kids improve their reading,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds has seen a big improvement in the kids’ performance since Mozart began reading with them. “He’s so good with children, and I’ve seen research that suggests that reading to dogs helps kids,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the small groups and one-on-one attention the kids receive in her class, along with Mozart’s help, have improved test scores and reading comprehension.
“Kids who were hesitant about reading aloud are picking out more challenging books to read, because Mozart has no judgment,” said Reynolds.
Mozart was trained with assistance from the Guild Assistance Dog Partners in Lakewood. The nonprofit provides individually trained service dogs at no cost to people with disabilities. Mozart has been a service/therapy dog for three years.
Mozart’s owner, Shirley Granger, calls him a sweet boy. Mozart belonged to Granger’s husband, Gene, who died in 2007, and Mozart became Shirley’s constant companion.
When not performing his duties as a reading coach, Mozart helps Granger by assisting her when she stands, navigating up and down stairs, and fetching items for her.
Sometimes he takes his fetching task a little too seriously. Granger said she has to keep her closet door closed because he fetches ad lib, and she frequently finds her slippers in the yard.
Granger said Mozart seems to know where they are when she pulls into the school’s parking lot for the weekly reading sessions. He begins to whine and is eager to join the kids.
“He loves to come here, and he loves the kids,” Granger said.
Mozart’s next helping paw is to aid kids as part of the Park County victim advocacy program. Granger and Mozart attend classes to become more familiar with advocacy for children, and Mozart’s calm presence will be there when kids are being interviewed by the sheriff’s deputies or have to testify in court.
Despite his full calendar, Mozart will keep his weekly appointments with Elk Creek students, the only school he visits as a reading guide dog.
From the High Timber Times, February 24, 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment