My mother always told me I was blessed with the gift of teaching, and more specifically, simplifying rather abstract concepts and presenting them in a more understandable way to others. While I know one's parent tends to think quite highly of their children, I do find joy in facilitating others' learning and over the years, I have tried to find ways to use this gift through helping others.
When I was in 9th grade, the sixth grade teacher mentioned that she was looking for a tutor for one of her struggling students. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to help the teacher out and also build a relationship with this little girl. So, I found myself staying after school one to two times a week and helping "Minina" with her homework. Though she primarily struggled with math, I also helped with science, social studies and language arts. Since she was Bolivian, English was not her first language, but she had a fairly good grasp on the grammar and vocabulary. This was a good experience for me, since I had to recall previous knowledge and try different strategies to make the concepts understandable to a 6th grade level student. I also was able to meet her mother and talk to her about her daughter's academic progress. Though I only tutored Minina for a year, I continued to informally help my fellow classmates through the rest of high school, often staying after school to study with a friend who needed help in a particular subject.
Once in college, I found that this sort of informal tutoring would continue. I actually meet with one of my classmates on a fairly regular basis to help her with her Spanish homework. I've found that I can put my knowledge of both Spanish and English to good use here in this American setting. More formally, I am currently working as a writing mentor. My assigned mentee is an international student and I have been challenged to make complex and at times seemingly meaningless English grammar rules understandable and relevant. Naturally, since we are at college, meeting the families of these students is pretty much out of the question, but I continue to gain valuable experience with different types of learners.
Of course, I too have been helped by many of my fellow classmates throughout the years. I am glad that this learning and growing experience is a reciprocal process, and hope to develop many more rewarding relationships as I continue on my journey towards becoming a teacher of excellence.
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