Tutoring for the 1st Time

On Monday afternoon, I was finally introduced to my student that I will be tutoring for the remainder of the semester. She is a very intelligent high school student, who has asked for the help to raise her grade. We spent an hour together and worked through some of the problems she has been struggling with in her math class. I enjoyed being able to help her "see" the solutions. It was fun to be able to share my love and knowledge of math with someone else. As we progressed through the problems, I did have to remind her to slow down and take her time. I also tried to impress that math is all about practice and if you don't understand it right away, keep working similar problems until you grasp the concepts. The school was relatively quiet this week, as the middle school was on Spring Break. Next week, the student is on break, so I made sure to let her know that I will see her in two weeks. I hope that she can learn to trust in me and that together we can improve her understanding of this difficult subject. For myself, it was a fulfilling experience knowing that I can help someone else get over a hurdle they are facing. I know that I have faced hurdles in my studies and wish I had reached out for help before failing. I know that I would have been grateful for the assistance and hope that I can encourage her to pass on her knowledge when the time comes. For now, I just hope that I can live up to her expectations and together we can become a winning team.

Craft Night

On Monday, February 28th, I was fortunate enough to get to attend the Craft Night at the Grizzlie's House on the St. Jude campus. There were approximately 20 – 25 children and parents who came to the dining room to participate. We made yarn kites with craft sticks. I was in charge of starting the kites for the kids and helping them navigate the actual construction. I met a wonderful 13 year old girl who was here for her six month re-check. She was excited to go home the next day and see her cat and horses. I met a young man who was born without a viable immune system and like myself, has to take a pill once a day to maintain his health. I also watched a father make one of the kites while holding his 1 ½ year old daughter.
There were only two volunteers and the coordinator there to help. Some of the parents looked very tired and some obviously enjoyed watching their children have fun. I was honored to be able to provide a small bit of distraction for the children. It was heart wrenching to hear them discussing their MRI's and blood tests with each other. It was like hearing healthy children discuss bicycle rides and homework. They were very matter of fact about their diseases. You could see that some of the children had been in this environment for years. I was astonished at the upbeat personalities that I encountered from the kids. One little boy told his mom, “I'm sick, I'm not an invalid and I would like to cut the yarn for people!” It was a great experience and I will be participating again next month. I encourage everyone to volunteer for this opportunity and enjoy every minute of it. I know I did.