Tutoring Reflection #3

           One of the experiences I had while tutoring at the Easley Center reminded me of reading Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Kozol. A common theme I saw in several of the children I helped at the Easley Center was their apparent lack of self-belief. Some of these children did not seem to have any confidence in themselves or in the work they were completing. I noticed that some children were prone to second-guessing themselves, even when they had the right answer all along. One child in particular would write down a word and go back and erase it time after time because he did not seem to think it was acceptable.  These children seemed to genuinely value having someone sitting next to them to tell them they are doing their work correctly. I found that a great deal of my time helping certain children was spent simply encouraging them. I made it my goal to help them to understand that they could trust their judgment seeing as they were completing their work correctly.           

            However, I did learn that most of these children had a strong desire to learn as much as they possibly could, both from their teachers and their peers. They would constantly go out of their way to ask us questions about things they did not understand.  It was refreshing to see a group of children so excited about learning.

            My experiences with the children at the Easley Center reminded me of Kozol’s experiences with the children in the South Bronx. Many of the children in these impoverished areas of New York did not have an ounce of self-confidence, due to the fact that they had been put down all of their lives. These children had constantly been told by their peers that they would never have the chance to leave nor become what they defined as “successful.”  Similar to my own experiences with tutoring, Kozol was able to find those children who had a strong desire to learn and improve not only their own lives, but also the lives of their families. Kozol fed off of their excitement and used that to motivate himself to write about the true importance of educating every child.