Breaching the Gap

The past two weeks I have the joy with working with Student S, and Student K again. Student C has also been working with us. Student K has really taken to me, which I was hoping would be the case. At this point, she has opened up to me about her boyfriend, religious affiliation, and her learning style. If she doesn't like a way that the teacher explains something, she will turn to me to rephrase it. This is very exciting for me. According to the coordinating teacher, Student K hasn't connected with a teacher or tutor in the way she has connected to me. As long as I am there to prompt her, she finishes her work very quickly and effectively. I hope this dynamic continues.

And Away We Go

When I first was told that I would be tutoring in an alternative high school this semester, my initial reaction was one of excitement and hesitation. Tutoring and mentoring are experiences that I have always placed great value on. My hesitation stemmed from the word "alternative". To be a student in an alternative school, the student must be considered "at risk".

My first day at the high school was a couple of weeks ago and mostly included taking care of logistics. I was placed in a ninth grade English class with two other LLED students. The first time I truly had the opportunity to work with a student was yesterday. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of working with Student K and Student S. Both students are female, ninth graders, and latina. Student S and Student K were working together to dissect a section of a Fredrick Douglass speech, and I was instructed to assist them. Both students are exceedingly bright. All I really did in terms of assisting involved keeping them on track. They finished before any other group and because of their timely work, I had time to have some personal conversation with them. Students S seemed to take to me from the beginning. Students K was a little more reserved initially. However, after talking with her about her boyfriend and interests, she seemed very comfortable around me. When the class was over, she asked when I would be back. I view this is a victory seeing as she barely wanted to talk to me at the beginning and kept talking about how she hates school. I hope that I get the opportunity to work with Student K more.