The reason I signed up for Dr. Chapman’s SPE100 class was to get an easy A. I needed to take an elective to fulfill my core and a friend of mine recommended this class. I asked him if it would be easy, he just laughed at me and assured me that I wouldn’t have a problem with it. Again, I asked if it would be easy enough to get an A in, he got a serious look on his face and said, “Vicki, just take it. It changed my life.”
The first day of class we were all told about these community service hours that were required as a part of our grade. Twenty definitely seemed like a lot so I knew I had to begin right away. I went to Get On Board Day to look for a service organization to join, there is where I found UA Mentors. UA Mentors is a program that pairs you with a child or two from a local school to mentor and tutor for the semester. I immediately signed up and awaited my placement. I then got an e-mail from Star Bloom, the Honors College Professor who is in charge of the program. She paired me up with two third graders at Matthews Elementary, Jailyn Bishop and Tiffany Peña, where I went every Thursday from 3:00-5:00pm. My first day was September 3rd and I have been almost every Thursday since then.
The mission and purpose of UA Mentoring is to give hands on teaching experience to students while providing a safe and nurturing after-school environment for children. I worked as a tutor and mentor, basically I would sit with the girls and help them with their homework, teach them skills to help them get ahead, and learn about their lives. There were many other students that worked with me, most of them were a part of the honors college and were fulfilling service requirements for a class. There was an upperclassman, Logan Dowell, who was in charge of the third grade class and the third grade mentors and a graduate student, Jia Chen, who over-looked the entire program at Matthews.
This service learning experience taught me a lot, not only about teaching but also about myself. It really gave an archive of skills I did not have before I began tutoring. Sometimes these girls had a hard time understanding some of the material that they were being taught. I knew they were very smart girls and that it wasn’t the material that wasn’t understandable but rather the way it was being taught wasn’t compatible to their way of learning. It made me better appreciate everyone as an individual and understand that many times things have to be approached in a different manner in order for them to be understood.
The UA Mentors program is great and really does some phenomenal things for the lives of these children however, it does face some challenges. Because the mentors are college students, and many of them are participating for class credit, they do not share the same passion as Star Bloom and Jia Chen for touching the lives of the children. I found it truly disappointing that some mentors would fail to show up consistently or when they were there, they did not give significant attention to their mentees. It would break my heart to see the tears in a child’s eyes because yet again their mentor did not care enough about them to come. However terrible the consequences of the aforementioned challenges can be, the success stories are of much greater content. Many of these children would fall behind in their class because their parents work or are simply disinterested in their schoolwork. Without proper at-home practice, a child can truly be set back from his or her classmates. UA Mentors successfully provides a safe and nurturing atmosphere for these kids to grow socially and intellectually.
What surprised me most was how attached I became to Tiffany and Jailyn. I have continued to mentor even after completing my twenty hours, and will continue to do so next semester as well. I believe my work there has not only benefitted the girls but also UA Mentors as a program. I tried to not only be a part of the program but also provide input about how the program can be expanded. I took the mission and purpose to heart when I began my service and am confident that I have positively impacted the children in my class. What I learned here is something that I will carry with me in the future. I hope to one day be a teacher. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of understanding each individual in the classroom. So many times the teacher will simply teach to the class, but I found that difficult when every child is unique. Being able to connect with the students on a one on one level is very important.
The reason I signed up for Dr. Chapman’s SPE100 class was to get an easy A, but now I have found that classes are more than just about grades and teachers are more than just graders. Each class is an opportunity to better yourself as a person and as a future member of society. This class and it’s service learning experience has opened my eyes to a new approach to life. My experience has taught me to be flexible, understanding, and interested; all things that I believe will make me a more responsible member of society. So Dr. Chapman, this class has changed my life, too.
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