After-School Tutoring: Now I Know What I Want to Do with My Life

All my life, I never really made a commitment to anything but school and volunteering. I bounced from job to job, never really staying very long because of boredom, lack of advancement or just plain not making a difference in the world. I thought about going to the Peace Corps, but safety was a big issue. I am still thinking about going to Americorps, so that I can learn the inter-workings of Non-Profit Organization. It was clear when I first started tutoring low-income children what I should do with my life.

I currently tutor at four low-income school sites. Thanks to the "No Child Left Behind", children of low-income can receive free tutoring after-school. I meet with them once a week for about an hour and a half a day. I work in Durham, North Carolina, most people do not want to work in this area because it is crime ridden and high-level poverty. My family did not want me to work here because of its high crime rate and they fear my safety. My response to this was, " People get killed everywhere and someone has to do it". That was the end of the conversation and the following week I started my job.

My first week went really well. I was a little sadden because most of my students are easily frustrated, undisciplined and disrespectful. Most are used to being told the answers to their questions and trapped into being dependent instead of independent thinkers. My purpose is to guide them into becoming independent and self-reliant productive citizens. I want them to be able to have an intelligent conversation with everyone they come across. To have the confidence to be an active participant in all of their classes.