The name of my mentor is Ms. Nina Payne and she has been a Kindergarten teacher at Bethel Christian School since 1991. I have worked in her classroom as a teacher's aide for two years now. She is such an outstanding person and a great role model for everyone. A little about her background; she is originally from Oahu, Hawaii, loves to scratch peoples' backs, and is obsessed with anything purple. Ms. Payne will be guiding me throughout this drawn out process of tutoring kids and making learning fun.
Samaira: So what do you think about my project?
Ms. Payne: I think it is a great idea. I have plenty of students that are struggling in math and reading and I could for sure use your help.
Samaira: Is there anything I should know about tutoring the kids and helping them want to learn?
Ms. Payne: Well, when kids are having a hard time learning something new, the generic way of teaching, such as lectures or plain instruction, may not really explain what they are doing, and they might not truly learn it. A few ways for young students to really be engaged and want to learn more could be through music, dancing, fun rhymes, or hands-on examples.
Samaira: How would you feel about high school students volunteering their time to come tutor students in the classrooms?
Ms. Payne: Overall I think it would be a great idea for high school students to help out, but legally it might be more of a process than what it seems like. For me, or any teacher, to be able to step out of the classroom and leave the tutor in charge would take getting them finger printed, put into our school volunteer system, and having their records looked at. Now with you (Samaira) having gone through our school and have been working with me for two years already, it is easier for me to just let you come in and volunteer, but if it were just any high school student, I don't know that I could just leave them with any of my students.
Well, it sounds like she was a logical choice for this project. I'm sure you can learn quite a bit through working with her and her students.
ReplyDeleteAwesome. I love that you chose someone other than a parent to mentor you. Ms. Payne is a great choice. The only thing I would suggest is maybe a few more questions so we could know a little more.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post! Your mentor sounds awesome. I agree with Hannah on the questions thing; a few more would make it go the extra mile.
ReplyDeleteUsing a teacher is a very smart idea and she did bring up good points about volunteering. How will you get volunteers together? What do they need to do to qualify?
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