Write About Now

Each Wednesday evening for the last three weeks I’ve spent a couple of hours “tutoring” a small group of nine and ten year old students at a learning center for children in low-income families.

I say “tutoring” because often it takes all my energy and effort just to keep them somewhat quiet, somewhat focused, and using more English than Spanish (one of the center’s rules). This Wednesday I stopped the students from poking each other, singing like Beyonce, spending 30 minutes at the pencil sharpener, whining about not wanting to do homework, and talking over each other to get my attention. I don’t think I helped them accomplish much academically.

These aren’t bad kids. Leslie delights in reading and in coloring pictures of flowers for my refrigerator. When Jose isn’t ogling the two teenage girls tutoring other groups or complaining about his work, he’s funny, bright, and honest. (“Teacher, can I be in their group? Well, can we leave the door open so I can just look at them?”) Cristian proudly announced on Wednesday that he had no homework because he’d been suspended—but in addition to being something of a troublemaker, he’s also self-aware, charming, and extremely smart. I want to see him make better choices as he gets older; I’ve met few kids with so much potential.

So, no, they’re not bad kids, they’re just the products of elementary school classes with 40 other students, families with half a dozen children, and poor, dangerous neighborhoods. (They find it fascinating that I live alone–I’m not sure if they’re more intrigued by my privacy or my foolishness. “You’re not scared?” they ask.)

Very few of them receive much personal time from any adult, and they learned early on to talk louder, act sillier, whine longer, and disobey more often to win attention.

Not surprisingly, they thrive with just a few minutes of one-on-one. When I managed to maintain enough order to work with Jose, he used a dictionary for the first time and loved the challenge of finding specific words based on the page headings. He liked the activity so much he asked to skip game time and keep working.

When I can quiet the group enough to focus on Duyana, she transforms from brash, disruptive, and scattered to shy, sweet, and…………still ditzy. But I can work with that, you know?

For this weekly appointment to really be helpful, each one of these kids needs regular, personal attention from one adult, and we barely have enough tutors now to limit the groups to five. I wish more people would donate just two hours a week to make a difference for these kids.