Diary of a Math Tutor

Twelve pairs of eyes stared at me as I stood in front of the classroom. The teacher introduced me to the group and it wasn’t until that very moment that I realized I was nervous to meet the 2nd and 3rd grade students I would be tutoring.  I had forgotten how uncomfortable it is to be “the new girl” in class.  Luckily, the teacher immediately tasked me with the job of passing out a snack, so I instantly became the most popular person in the room.  As I handed out crackers and juice, the polite “pleases” and “thank yous” from the students made me smile. Snack distribution I’ve now mastered. Tutor, I was yet to be.

Most of the students at Graham Hill Elementary have been in the Communities in Schools tutoring program all year. They know what’s expected of them during the two hour tutoring session. They are to sit quietly and work on math problems until they get stumped. If they need help, they are to raise their hand until a tutor is free to help them. That one-on-one attention gives the student the opportunity to walk through each problem and figure out where they get stuck.

Although these students have been struggling with math concepts they didn’t seem discouraged.  They didn’t even seem annoyed that they had to stay after school to do MORE work.  Yes, they got antsy and lacked patience when waiting for help from one of the adults, but that’s only natural for 7 and 8 year-olds who have been in school all day.  More than anything I saw eager determination to understand the math concepts that confused them. 

By the end of my second day of tutoring I no longer felt like the new girl. And I now look forward to Tuesday afternoons as the day that I get to help at least one kid feel confident about their ability to learn and succeed.