I am not running a babysitting service
Hi kids.
First of all, thanks to everyone who's taken my quiz so far. There are some interesting patterns to the results, which I'll analyze a bit later. (I'm hoping to con at LEAST my remaining siblings into taking it before that, though)
In the meantime, we'll continue the "get to know each other" bit with a little story about how I spend my Saturday mornings (NOT a question on the quiz!). During the school year, I am a tutor at Boston Latin School's Saturday Success School program. In the last two years, I've been the lead tutor in the English room. For three hours a week, I work with about 60 kids and 5-12 tutors, trying to fit them together in such a way that the kid learns something, the tutor feels useful, and I don't go out of my ever-loving mind. It's one of the best parts of my week, and I wouldn't give it up, even for the extra sleep (we start at 9, a fact which is particularly relevant to this rant).
That said, there are a few things about it that drive me crazy, the number one being when the kids don't take it seriously. Now look. I was 13 once, too, unbelievable though that might seem. And no 13 year old likes school, especially on Saturday. But if you're already up to be at school at 9 am, you might as well try to get something out of it, right? So why do the same people come into my class each week without something to do, even though I've told them that it's about more than just homework about 1,000 times? Why did FIVE students show up at least ten minutes late to my class today? Why, oh why, did one student suggest that he could play tic-tac-toe for the period?
I have adults coming in to help these kids, and they are not getting paid. Guess what happens if they have no one to tutor, or they have to work with a surly teenager who refuses to crack his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird? They don't come back. Then, when I need help because my room has swollen to 20 kids at one go, I'm stuck.
Obviously, teenagers are gonna be teenagers and there's not much you can do about it. And I still had a great morning talking a kid through the Trojan War, and watching my most distractable kid actually learning vocabulary with his tutor. But dear god, if I wanted someone to baby, I'd go have one.
PS: I feel this way about my day job, also. And that is working with ostensible adults. Rant over.
First of all, thanks to everyone who's taken my quiz so far. There are some interesting patterns to the results, which I'll analyze a bit later. (I'm hoping to con at LEAST my remaining siblings into taking it before that, though)
In the meantime, we'll continue the "get to know each other" bit with a little story about how I spend my Saturday mornings (NOT a question on the quiz!). During the school year, I am a tutor at Boston Latin School's Saturday Success School program. In the last two years, I've been the lead tutor in the English room. For three hours a week, I work with about 60 kids and 5-12 tutors, trying to fit them together in such a way that the kid learns something, the tutor feels useful, and I don't go out of my ever-loving mind. It's one of the best parts of my week, and I wouldn't give it up, even for the extra sleep (we start at 9, a fact which is particularly relevant to this rant).
That said, there are a few things about it that drive me crazy, the number one being when the kids don't take it seriously. Now look. I was 13 once, too, unbelievable though that might seem. And no 13 year old likes school, especially on Saturday. But if you're already up to be at school at 9 am, you might as well try to get something out of it, right? So why do the same people come into my class each week without something to do, even though I've told them that it's about more than just homework about 1,000 times? Why did FIVE students show up at least ten minutes late to my class today? Why, oh why, did one student suggest that he could play tic-tac-toe for the period?
I have adults coming in to help these kids, and they are not getting paid. Guess what happens if they have no one to tutor, or they have to work with a surly teenager who refuses to crack his copy of To Kill a Mockingbird? They don't come back. Then, when I need help because my room has swollen to 20 kids at one go, I'm stuck.
Obviously, teenagers are gonna be teenagers and there's not much you can do about it. And I still had a great morning talking a kid through the Trojan War, and watching my most distractable kid actually learning vocabulary with his tutor. But dear god, if I wanted someone to baby, I'd go have one.
PS: I feel this way about my day job, also. And that is working with ostensible adults. Rant over.
posted by The Red Menace at 4:47 PM
2 Comments:
I can't imagine facing that many teenagers that early on a Saturday. I'd need an entire coffeepot on my desk.
I second the sentiment about the day job.
This is very interesting site...
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