Week 6
1058 words by gonayiga
Up until now, I am getting to know the students that I’m working with along with the other volunteers. As time goes by we have developed personal relationships and we have been tutoring in the in different subjects. These subjects include physics, chemistry, earth science, and sometimes in the detention room. In the physics room, we work one on one with the students and help them work out different problems or whatever work they need help on. The usual routine that we follow when we tutor in the physics room is we go pick up the students that need help in that particular area. After we go get the students from the room they are in, we go to a room that is designated for a certain subject, in this case it is physics. Next we meet with the teachers and discuss with them what the lesson plan is and what they are trying to teach the students at the time. We then watch the students work out problems either on the chalk board or on their own papers and assist them if they run into any problems while working them out. Sometimes the students know what they are doing but lack the motivation to do their homework which leads to the decline in their grades. This is another facet of the Men on the Move program takes part in. We also mentor the students if something like this is going on. We give them a heads up on certain things such as that it’s best for them to stay on top of their work and to develop a good work ethic before it is too late. I have found myself giving them advice from personal experiences. These conversations make it easier for us, the volunteers, to relate to the students because they see that we went through the same things that they are going through. This makes it easier for them to take our advice instead of hearing the same thing from a teacher and just blowing it off because of the generation gap. There was one student that I connected with very easily because I was the same type of student in high school that he is now. In high school I was a good all around student as far as being able to learn the material easily. The only thing that would hold me back was getting caught up in irrelevant things that had nothing to do with what I was supposed to be doing. I was able to share my personal experiences and basically just help him realize that he has to get his priorities in order. Up until now he has shown a steady improvement in his school work and in a matter of time he will not have to stay after school for tutoring anymore. Aside from tutoring in physics, we also go to tutor junior high students. The subject that I tutored in was earth science. Tutoring eighth grade students was an experience all by itself. At this stage it seems like it’s harder for them to sit down and do work if they lack the motivation. The students didn’t necessarily need help learning the subject, they didn’t have adequate study skills. I tutored one student during that time and he seemed to be smart and articulate. The only thing is he had a short attention span and it was hard for him to buckle down and get to work. I was able to connect with this student also because in junior high school, I was the same way. He was very good at taking advice and applying it. I encouraged him take better notes in class and to keep them organized. I also helped him by giving him advice on how to study and memorize things. After a brief stint with the junior high school students, the group of volunteers I tutored with went back to the high school students. We began to go to the dentention room. The students in this room had an array of personalities that ranged from just class clowns to students that just had problems doing their work. For the one time I went I had an interesting experience. We would engage in conversation with the students to see where there minds were and to see what kind of problems they had. Some of the students were in detention because of a lack of production in school or if they had behavioral problems. The topic of discussion most of the time was about girls. While this was going on we would try to make connections between how to be successful with girls and being successful in school. For example, college girls usually will not give someone the time of day if they are not focused or do not have anything going for them. Up until now I am enjoying the implementation of my project and I look forward until the next time I come to tutor at St. Augustine High School because of the good experiences I have had.
Theology has some correlation to what I want to do for a living. This class has helped me become a better reader as far as thinking critically and being able to make connections. I now have developed an interest in learning more about religion as a whole rather than just my own faith. For years I’ve only known what I’ve been taught in the Catholic Church but now I have a desire to learn more about Christianity as a whole instead of Christianity through the eyes of Catholics. I now think more critically in other subjects as well. I also think that this class has prepared me for when I take a philosophy course because I will have to be able to think critically in that class aswell. Another thing that this class has done for me is helped me be able to concentrate on what I’m writing about instead of the required length of the assignment. In the beginning of this course I thought I was going to be overwhelmed by the work load but the more and more that I do the easier it is for me to get the work completed because the confidence is there that I will be able to get it done in a timely matter.