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I’ve never really written a blog post before (I’m a math tutor anyway), so here goes nothing…
6:30 A.M: Alarm goes off, I hit the snooze button.
6:45 A.M: Alarm goes off again. I lay and wonder how much I need a job and apartment, but then I remember how much my kids need me.
7:00 A.M: Finally I get up. I walk to the bathroom. One of my two roommates is in there. Just kidding
7:15 A.M: Dressed for work, brush my teeth in kitchen sink, grab lunch, and on my way I go.
7:30 A.M: Clock in 30 minutes before I start so I can get those AmeriCorps service hours in and go through my task card for the day to refresh on what I’ll be working on with my students.
8:10 A.M: Report for morning duty on the 9th floor. My job is to say good morning to the sixth graders as they grab breakfast before going to their lockers, and to remind them how to behave in the hallways.
9:00 A.M: Head back down to the eighth floor and think to myself that it’s pretty rambunctious. As I make my way to a meeting, I remind several students that it is time to head to class
9:05 A.M: I usually have a meeting with my content team (the other 8th grade math tutors and our Corp Leader). These people are literally my saving grace throughout the day. They make the job so much easier.
9:53 A.M: Head into the hallway for my hallway post, making sure that students get to class.
10:00 A.M: Head back into my classroom for my prep time and talk with my friends or look for content for the group sessions I run with the school counselor. I studied social work in college, so I volunteered to support the counselor in this way.
10:46 A.M: The time is now. My first tutorial group comes in, like John Cena in a wrestling match, A.K.A. they’re loud. As I get them settled down I remind for what feels like the millionth time to grab a task card (their sheet that tells them what they have to do this week to meet the goal that they choose) and a Do Now (a short five minute worksheet that usually is a refresher of what they’ve already been taught). What I love most about the group is even when I have to redirect them, they always find a way to make me laugh. It’s extremely important to hold onto these moments, especially on days where things get rough.
11:40 A.M: My second tutorial group comes in. This group I tutor four girls. The challenge with this group is that they’re always in their feelings, so I have to balance that with pushing them to do their best academically. They’re great about coming in quietly and grabbing their task card and Do Now’s. What I love about this group is that even when they are feeling their emotions, they are always committed to their education and are always on task.
12:30 P.M: It’s lunch time. If it’s my week for lunch duty, I open the door for them to come into the cafeteria on the second floor, and then circulate around their tables to make sure they’re behaving and everything is going smoothly. This is a great time to check in with your kids on a personal level, and if it’s not your week for lunch duty, I recommend spending a few days with them regardless, it really makes a good impression with them.
1:25 P.M: I head back upstairs with my kiddos and it’s now time to TA with the 8th grade math teacher. It’s beneficial to be a TA with your teacher because you get to see the content being taught, and if you don’t understand something, you get to learn with the kids.
2:20 P.M: My third tutorial of the day starts now. This group has gone through a lot of changes, with students moving or moving to another group. As a content team (the 8th grade math tutors) we spend a lot of time in the beginning of the year shifting groups to make sure that all the kids in the groups are on the same academic level. What I love about this group is how much growth I’ve seen from them. In the beginning of the year, I had one student who never came to tutorial, and now she comes every day. It took a lot of meeting her where she was at, and pushing her to overcome the doubts she has about herself.
3:15 P.M: My last tutorial of the day. It’s the honor’s cohort. My job with them as their tutor is to stretch their thinking. When they ask me for help, I try to put it back on them to get the answers themselves. For example, I had two students who would ask for help in the beginning of the year, and when I would go over to help them, they could not tell me what the instructions were and/or what they were confused about, so I would put it back on them to read the instructions and then try it once before they asked for help. They usually figure it out before I can even check in with them.
4:00 P.M: The school day is over. Now it is time for dismissal duty. My job is to monitor one of the bus rooms (all buses have different rooms that the students should go to before being dismissed once the buses get here) with another tutor and teacher, to ensure the safety of the students.
4:30 P.M: I help to run Student Government Association (SGA) on Tuesdays & Thursdays. In this I help with the organization and preparation of planned activities for the students.
6:00 P.M: Once the students have been dismissed, I think it’s time for me to head home too. I clock out, head home, cook dinner, watch Netflix (I highly recommend The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
11:00 P.M: I go to bed, ready for another Great Oaks day.