One of Many Rewards of Tutoring: A Child’s Joy

The sooner children learn to read, the better they’ll do in school and life. And they’ll open the door to the universe of the published word. The Reaching Heights Many Villages academic tutoring program exists to reinforce and accelerate student learning, with a focus on foundational literacy skills. You can learn more about our schools’ approach to literacy in this video clip from the 2010 Reaching Heights Annual Meeting.

Of course, improved student achievement is just one of the rewards of tutoring. The following essay by Many Villages tutor Susie Kaeser is a poignant reminder of another great gift that a tutor receives: the joy of a child.

Why I Think I’ll Be a School Volunteer Forever
By Susie Kaeser
Yesterday on my walk home from Boulevard Elementary School I ran into Hope (this is not her real name but it is what she represents to me), a first grader who I tutored last year as a Many Villages volunteer.

She was late for school but when she spotted me her worried face lit up and she opened her arms for a hug, something she has come to expect as part of our work together. As quickly as we met, we departed on our separate ways. My heart leaped. Here was the reward for my work as a volunteer: the smile and affection of a lovely young girl who is facing many hardships in her daily life and in her search for academic success.

Hope and I have a serious relationship. I was there the day she figured out that when you sound out letters slowly and then quickly you can make words. It is a remarkable discovery that made her excited and proud every time we met. And because of that time together, we are connected forever. She makes me feel important. I touched some one’s life and she touched mine.

Schools are about this human process. The Many Villages tutoring program helps our schools respond to something educators know very well but public policy makers seem to ignore: children are individuals. They come to school from different places with different levels of readiness and support, and different personalities. They learn in different ways and at different speeds. Their brains work differently. Something that is obvious and easy for one child can be a mystery to another.

Attention and encouragement and practice help. Patience, time and concern give individual learners some of the fuel they need to persist. Volunteers can provide that extra stuff that allows for individual difference in a policy environment and structure that all too often expects unrealistic uniformity.

Hope, like the other 350+ children at Boulevard, is unique. It is a privilege to be part of the school’s commitment to treat her that way; to expect a lot and to find the keys to her growth. Yes, education is about human development not widgets. Our school district’s commitment to individualizing instruction, a very complex and demanding endeavor, is inspired and not always easy to attain. By working within my neighborhood school I am a witness to our district’s commitment to practices that deal with the complexity of the individual, and I’m happy to be an active ingredient in their work.

Call Lisa Hunt at Reaching Heights, 216.932.5110, or send her an email at lisa@reachingheights.org to learn more about becoming a Many Villages tutor.

Susie Kaeser was exectutive director of Reaching Heights from 1992 to 2007.