成人快播

When my AmeriCorps service term with 成人快播 began in August, I have to admit that I was mildly afraid of children.聽

My perception of elementary schoolers was still skewed by vivid memories of my time as a juggling coach at a circus-themed summer camp. Day after day, my group of seven-year-olds ran, shrieked, and attempted to use me as a jungle gym. My weeks were full of excitement, but they also included some tears as my small charges tried to pick up juggling.聽

My journey to 成人快播

Given this experience, you may be wondering why I chose to serve at 成人快播, a children鈥檚 literacy nonprofit, during my AmeriCorps term. My road to 成人快播 began in college, where I enrolled in a program focused on social impact and entrepreneurship. After completing my coursework and three internships at nonprofits, I attended a philosophy seminar that further fueled this interest in work that impacted others.聽

At first, these thoughts of impact and service hovered in the back of my mind. Like many upcoming graduates, I planned to start a corporate career immediately after my May 2020 graduation. But as the COVID-19 pandemic spread, rescinded job offers and hiring freezes mounted, and I became increasingly excited about the opportunity to shift my post-graduate plans to truly focus on service.聽

AmeriCorps seemed like a fantastic fit for me鈥攁 year of service would enable me to impact others while also learning how to incorporate service into my life long-term. As I researched AmeriCorps programs, I learned about 成人快播 Baltimore from a tutor who sang its praises. I was drawn to the nonprofit鈥檚 goal of supporting students as they learned to read and its focus on empowering communities in this work. I was particularly interested in 成人快播鈥� distance tutoring coordinator role, which would allow me to use data to make decisions in the interest of student impact while interacting with a range of stakeholders.

It鈥檚 the kids

Come August, I was excited to begin my year of service. I was genuinely thrilled for the opportunity to help students achieve the freedom that comes from being able to read. But the cries of my former campers still echoed in my mind, especially after my AmeriCorps peers were asked to reflect on what motivated each of them to serve with AmeriCorps. Their common chorus of 鈥渢he kids, it鈥檚 really the kids鈥� and 鈥渂ring it all back to the kids鈥� surrounded me. It was clear that everyone was ecstatic to work so closely with children. Yet my skepticism remained鈥攃ould my work with kids鈥� wholeheartedly fuel my desire to jump into each new day?

My first tutoring session

A month later, I prepared to deliver my first online tutoring session, the first time I would interact one-on-one with a student. My student entered the Zoom room, I said, 鈥渉i!鈥�, he said 鈥渉i,鈥� and then an awkward silence ensued. Thankfully, my program manager soon stepped in, chatting with the student about how he was doing and how excited he was to be a part of 成人快播. A wave of gratitude washed over me as she asked the student questions. As I watched them interact, I learned in real-time that math, dragons, little sisters, and pets seemed to be safe topics that didn鈥檛 result in the outbursts I鈥檇 come to associate with kids this age.聽

I kept this interaction in mind as I met each of my students and continued to see them for weekly sessions. With each additional session, we moved further past our initial, shy introductions and towards real relationships. I learned that Corey鈥檚 chattiest self emerged when it was time to talk about dinosaurs. I learned that Lana knew more about penguins than I did. And I learned that Zion stayed engaged by bursting into an original song about the words in each lesson.聽

Connecting with students

A few weeks after that first tutoring session, one of my fourth-grade students arrived at her session a few minutes late. She announced, 鈥淚 am SORRY, I am having a ROUGH day.鈥� Her volunteer tutor smiled empathically and then quickly tried to start their lesson, hoping to take her student鈥檚 mind off her bad day. But I remembered what I saw weeks earlier with my manager, and stepped in.聽

鈥淥h no, I鈥檓 sorry to hear that!鈥� I said. 鈥淒o you want to tell us anything about it?鈥澛�

鈥淵es,鈥� she proclaimed, 鈥淚 do NOT like algebra.鈥� After a brief discussion about math and a few chuckles together, it seemed that the student had calmed down and was eager to start her session with her tutor.聽

I realized then that during my first few tutoring sessions, I鈥檇 focused on playing it safe, keeping my interactions to ones that I knew wouldn鈥檛 provoke my students to derail the lesson. But along the way, I鈥檇 found a level of comfort and my focus had shifted to asking questions that would spark dialogue, reveal each student鈥檚 interests, and enable me to deliver more engaging lessons. By the time I logged on for this fourth grader鈥檚 session, we had a relationship鈥攚e knew each other well enough that even when the world felt chaotic to her, she wanted to work with me to enter a mindset that would enable her to have a productive session.聽

What motivates me

I鈥檓 now halfway through my service term at 成人快播. Now, when people ask how my day is going, I tell them these stories. I tell them about the student who told me he was reading slowly so that our session could last longer. I tell them about Zion鈥檚 hilarious songs and about Kendall eagerly introducing her stuffed animal to Whoo the Owl, the character in the 成人快播 Connects lessons. Each day I get to see these students have fun as they realize that they enjoy reading and as they take charge of their own learning. This is what fuels my desire to jump into each new day.聽

Now, when someone asks what motivates me, I don鈥檛 think back to the screaming campers, or even my hesitation during my first tutoring session. Now, I join my fellow AmeriCorps members in saying, 鈥渢he kids, it鈥檚 really the kids.鈥�

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