Volunteering with
children generally involves tutoring those children in school
subjects such as math and reading. But what can these volunteers
offer that ordinary teachers cannot? Often times, smaller tutoring
programs provide a more personal exchange between instructor and
student, allowing the student’s individual strengths and weaknesses
to surface more quickly and noticeably by an instructor who can
readjust and focus the work accordingly. Tutoring establishes an
environment in which each child, not an entire class, is the focus.
But for tutoring to
reach its maximum efficiency, a tight bond must be established
between the student and the teacher; the teacher must understand the
child, while the child must respect and trust the teacher. Generally
this bond develops over time, with the tutor remaining with the same
student over an extended period. However, Mercer’s LEAP devised
another, if not more encompassing path to this bond.
LEAP’s trip to
the Strong Tower Church in Macon, Georgia, was my first encounter
with tutoring children. I expected two long hours of resistant
children who would rather play outside on their Saturday mornings.
Instead, when we
arrived, we were asked to retrieve the toys from upstairs for the
children to play with when they arrived in a few minutes. I was
shocked. We were going to play with the children, not simply lecture
to them; I was sure it would only be for a few minutes while we
waited for all of the children to arrive.
We played with
those children, ranging from kindergarten to seventh grade, for an
hour and a half (half of our scheduled time to be there). I played
soccer, and failed as goalie; but I also showed the boys good
sportsmanship in losing. I shared my camera with a boy curious
about video recording; but I also taught him to teach others. I was
taught how to play four squares and hop scotch; but I also taught
sharing and taking turns. I was teaching these children social
interactions while establishing the bond I would need later for
scholastic tutoring, and enjoying every minute of it.
We went inside and
ate lunch, leaving about 45 minutes for studying. I helped three fourth
graders, all of whom loved math and hated reading; naturally, we
started with the reading section. We learned context clues, which
they tore through quickly, realizing maybe they were not so bad at
reading. We moved on to a tedious math worksheet. One girl finished
in 10 minutes and beamed as I wrote a huge 100% on her paper for her
parents to see. One of the boys finished a few minutes later, but
missed a few of the questions. I circled them for him to retry. After
attempting a few more times, he too got a gratifying 100% on his
paper.
However, the other
boy was having problems. He was distracted and, while he could do the
math, he could not keep his focus long enough to complete the sheet.
He got frustrated and gave up, folding his arms and pouting at the
floor. I called another tutor over to finish the other sheets with
the two children that had finished, and devoted all my attention to
this boy. We went through each problem together, me reminding him to
stay on task and talk through each problem so I knew were his
attention was. After a few more minutes, he also got a 100%, and let
a smile slip.
At this time, the
children had to leave. Right before he got on the bus, he turned and
gave me a big hug. I knew I was going to come again to help at Strong
Tower. LEAP goes to Strong Tower every other Saturday from 10-1.
- Kirsten Brown
