Volunteer pt 2

My first week of volunteering in the tutorial program went very well! Most of the students involved in the program I have worked with before, so it was wonderful getting the chance to work with them again.

Essentially, our Tier II students are invited to stay after school for one hour on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Students are split into different groups and by grade level. Some students work in small groups with a teacher and others are working in the computer lab on the SuccessMaker Lab. From my understanding, the lower level students tend to work in the lab in order to get extra skill practice in the basics. SLD students are put into a group with one teacher and receive small group instruction.

My first day was last Tuesday, and I was able to work in the lab. I actually enjoy doing the lab work as I did this often last year. I think it's a good time for the students because they are able to work at their own individual pace and can work on different subjects at different times. I was helping another teacher facilitate the lab, so my job was to make sure that students were on-task and providing help for any concepts they were struggling with. After school tutorial lab is a lot more laid back than when I take my students. There are chances to socialize and take brain breaks when needed.

I really admire the teacher that I was volunteering with, as well. Typically, she works in the media center during the day. Throughout the year, we have gotten to know each other and she has been really supportive during my job change. I like the way that she interacts with the kid and see a lot of similarities between us. She is able to joke around and play with them, but when they try testing her she will set them straight.

Volunteering in the lab also made me realize that I really miss my old job. I miss having the opportunity to work individually and build these kids up. This experience helped me realize that, while being a classroom teacher is a blessing in my life right now, it's not the career path that I can always see myself taking.

Thursday I was required to sub for a teacher who would be out in the afternoon. I worked with the SLD group of 4th graders. This was definitely a difficult experience. Even though I only had seven students in my group-- and I have worked with all of them previously-- it was still a challenge getting them to all focus, stay on task, and keep up with the material. It was so different from my lab experience because I needed to stay in "teacher mode" the whole hour instead of lapsing into more social activities.

I believe the rest of my hours will be up in the air. I will probably have to substitute for any teachers who are out, but I am hoping that I get some more lab time.