Mother and son: Helping students learn to read

By Diane Saunders
Staff Writer
Published on Wednesday, December 31, 2008 1:13 PM MST

Diann and Dan Cook are familiar faces at the Jack Daley Primary School in Thatcher — they are a mother-and-son team who tutor students in reading.

Dan said he and his mother have volunteered at the school about a year, usually working four days a week.

“I just like helping kids,” Dan said as he worked with first-grade student Jayden Sias on reading.

Jack Daley Primary School first-grader Jacob Chavez gets some help with reading from volunteer tutor Diann Cook. Photo by Diane Saunders

His techniques for assisting youngsters in honing their reading skills include using flash cards to improve word recognition and listening to kids read books. He and young Sias took turns reading pages in a book about cats.

In addition to reading with Sias, Dan asked Sias to point out different types of cats in the book’s pictures.

Dan complimented Sias on his work, then said, “We believe in motivation.”

As Dan worked with Sias, his mother, Diann, worked with Jacob Chavez, another first-grade student.

“He’s doing so great,” Diann said of Chavez. “If children can read, they can do anything. The world is in their hands.”

Chavez said he has fun reading with Diann, who formerly volunteered at the Dorothy Stinson School in Safford.

“The best part (of tutoring) is seeing the improvement in (the children),“ Diann said.

Dan agreed, adding that improved reading skills help the students build self-esteem.

In addition to volunteering at Jack Daley, the Cooks volunteer at the Care Center —Diann for about 24 years and Dan for about six years.

Diann said everyone has the ability to volunteer — it’s just a matter of doing it.

Dan, who juggles volunteering with work, said, “The best service in life is volunteering.”

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