Tutoring at the WELL

This semester I began tutoring at the Wade Edward Learning Lab, a community center with the mission to provide “opportunities for achievement, enrichment and success” for students in the community. At this center, students are able to work on homework, projects, etc. with computer and Internet access as well as receive free tutoring from local volunteers. I volunteered as a math tutor for high school students, mainly in Geometry. This experience allowed me to work with high schoolers on a one-to-one basis, which gave me great experience with teaching the concepts of a math course. During this experience I was able to gauge how well students understood the course content while observing the obstacles they faced in fully mastering it. This was very beneficial for me as a future educator, not only for the experience in dealing with mathematical topics but to see the importance of serving my community.

From my school and society course I have learned how important it is for a teacher to engage their school’s community (students, parents, other teachers, administrators and the local community). This is extremely important, because each part of that community is a stake holder in the success of the school. The WELL helped me apply my understanding of this idea. Working with the students at the WELL and seeing volunteers at work showed me the importance of helping students outside of the classroom. I plan on taking this with me throughout my time as an educator, to engage my school’s community to fuel the success of my students inside and outside the classroom.