K is in Rebecca Bland’s 2nd grade class at Graham Hill Elementary School. K has large brown eyes and a rather serious manner for 8 year-old. K’s family arrived in the United States from Kenya five years ago. K just received his first pair of glasses a month ago. K is my reading buddy.

Always on the hunt for ways to connect with schools on the ground level and learn more about the great work of students and teachers in Washington, I recently signed up to be a reading buddy through Seattle’s Communities in Schools. Reading buddies work one-on-one, for an hour each week, with 2nd and 3rd grade students that are struggling to improve their reading and comprehension skills. And, after attending a three-hour training session on reading tutoring and curriculum, I figured I was golden—how hard can phonics be? “See spot run,” right? But, as I’m learning, being a reading buddy isn’t exactly for faint of heart.

First, the pre-tutoring anxiety set in. As soon as I received K’s name, I worried: What if he can’t read at all? Where would I start? Can I even remember what it was like learning to read? Then, I wigged out: Just what is phonemic awareness, anyway? And, what business do I have teaching it? Are reading games supposed to be this complicated? Then, full blown panic set in: I wasn’t a great babysitter and I never had significantly younger siblings. What if I make a mistake and screw up his ability to read for life? What if, 15 years down the road, every time he struggles with a sentence in the New Yorker he curses my name?!

And then, Ms. Bland introduced me to K. He didn’t seem at all worried by me. In fact, I think I’ve never actually been as calm as he was when shook my hand, told me take a (tiny) seat next to him, let me review his homework and (gasp!) started to read to me—slowly, but surely, and drawing explanatory pictures above the words he couldn’t get.

You see, K actually reads pretty well considering that his parents probably don’t frequently read or speak English with him at home and he only recently obtained the eyewear that allows him to see words clearly. Sure, he struggles with determining the difference between words like “clock” and “cock” and finding verbs in sentences, but that’s what I’m there for.

My mother recently reminded me that I struggled with reading at first and didn’t excel at it until I was prescribed glasses. I think I’ll tell K that next week.

Stay tuned for more of my reading adventures with K over coming weeks. And if you’re interested in becoming a reading buddy, visit Communities in Schools to learn more.