This is my second year tutoring at Whittier and I've been assigned to work with 2 dedicated and enjoyable 3rd grade teachers. By the time I started in mid-October, they both had identified several students who could use some extra attention. One 8-year-old girl is just learning English and was so proud to show me her Harry Potter book in Arabic. Tutoring her is a challenge, but I realize that it is better for her to be out of the classroom with me or a specialist. Why should she sit in a classroom when she doesn't get 90% of what the teacher is saying? Yet, I know she is progressing the first time I heard her say, "Oh my gosh!" Yes, she learns quickly.
A quiet Somali girl I was asked to tutor told me frankly that she is shy and doesn't talk much in class. I walk with her down to the library (aka media center), where we go over her homework and she seems more comfortable. This teacher seems to know the needs of each child in his room, and wanted to be sure she was keeping up with her classmates.
An energetic Mexican boy needed help finishing his math homework. After I helped him, he turned the paper in to his teacher and seemed so proud to be done - and yes, he did it on his own once he had a better understanding of the concept of subtraction. Yea! Another time, he could tell me the answers to reading project, but struggled to write the words down. More coaching with spelling seems to spur him to on.
Mostly it is the idea that he had someone (me) give him extra attention. Instead of feeling singled out by the teacher, he was pleased that I came to his classroom for him. For a classroom movie, he took my hand when I came to the room, led me to a chair and then gave me a teddy bear to hold. It's then that you realize the importance of a child simply feeling that they matter.
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