Today was my third day at JBHS. After three days of working with students
from five different periods, I feel like I have been able to make a personal
connection with one student in particular. This is worth mentioning for two
reasons. Firstly, I never imagined that I, personally, would have been able to
reach out to a student and build the kind of relationship that I did in such a
short period of time. One of my biggest worries coming into this trip was that
I wouldn’t be able to relate to the students because we come from different
backgrounds and might not share any common interests. I found that having
things in common does help but it is not as important as being inquisitive and
open to learning about the students and being able to open yourself up to them
as well.
Secondly, I still had doubts that being at a high school for just one
week would make an impact at all, but talking to this student changed my
perspective. She said that high school students from a local state school
visited her class last year to talk about their experiences in college. This
visit made her feel special because college students were willing to take the
time to talk to a high school student like her. She also felt inspired (her
word!) because they showed her that if kids so close to home can get into
college then she should be able to too. Just her saying this inspired me
because it made me feel like my actions have an impact and that my week at JBHS
will make a difference, if only on one student. I know this sounds really
predictable but after today I really believe it’s true.
One last thought on something I learned today. I was having trouble with
my fifth and seventh period classes because the students were completely distracted
and just would not stop talking and disrupting class. I was pretty discouraged
after half the class period had passed by and I couldn’t get any of them to
calm down and do their work. This is when I noticed that I could coax even the
most unproductive and stubborn students to do some work by simply putting the
worksheet in front of them, giving them encouragement, and little by little
guiding them through the worksheet. They were surprisingly compliant and were
never disrespectful to us the way they are to their teachers. I thought this
was interesting and I tried to put myself in their shoes to figure out why this
might be. I concluded that if I were in high school and college students came
to be our personal tutors for a week, I would definitely feel intimidated around
them. The fact that the students might feel this way never occurred to me. This
was eye opening because it made me realize that not only did I feel
uncomfortable in a new environment, but these students were also feeling the same
way. I learned that if I really want to build a relationship with these
students, I can’t just start off by forcing them to do their work because
that’s what most teachers do. Even as I become comfortable teaching the
material, I need to make sure they’re comfortable with me not only as a tutor
but also as a friend and mentor.
I’m sad to say that there are only two more days left before we leave but
I’m looking forward to new insights and learning even more about these
students.
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