Third grade genius

I just completed my first night of mentoring. It was interesting, though not quite was I was expecting. I imagined that my 8-year-old boy from the projects would be, I don’t know, a little behind in school? Maybe in need of some help? I mean, isn’t that why they’re in the program? As it turns out, the kid is smarter than I am. I’m not sure what good I’ll be to him. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation today:

Him: “Is this how you spell ‘Connecticut?’”
Me: “Um, I don’t know.”
If anything, I’ll be able to teach him how to use a dictionary. And an atlas. And spellcheck. Three items without which I would have never graduated from college.

I suggested we draw a monster together. I drew the head and he, the body.
“See, it’s part dog, part bird, part bear and that,” he pointed proudly to the fourth limb. “Is his mechanical arm.”
“Cool.” I said, honestly impressed. “I made the monster’s head look like a pumpkin ‘cause, um, ya know, Halloween’s coming up and all.”

I think perhaps I bored him. He looked wistfully past our Boggle game to the next child-sized table where another mentor-mentee pair sat playing chess.
“I know,” He suggested. “Maybe I’ll play chess with Brianna and you can play Boggle with her mentor?”
Yeah, I think that defeats the purpose of this whole program, kid. I know I’m dull and a shitty speller, but you’re stuck with me.

Maybe next time I'll bring in some of my work assignments so he can write them.