My experiences as a tutor
Sanika Bedre, 7th Grade
It was a regular Sunday, I happened to be helping my parents and younger brother in the kitchen after class, when Kishore Uncle pulls me aside. Normally, when I would be pulled aside, I would think that I was getting in trouble or I did something wrong. But this was different. I was offered a new opportunity, tutoring ESL students after Balavihar. This was an experience that would help me broaden my view on our community and at the same time, help other students improve themselves academically. I initially started tutoring a girl named Andrea. We got along really well so we started to talk about where we come from and the culture that we are a part of. She told me how her family was a really big family. The family has 5 kids and they even had to share a house with other families. Because of the vastness in family size and the crowded homes, their parents were not able to help the kids with their homework or preparing for tests. The time that we give these kids is very valuable to them as this is the time where they can ask questions, gain answers and practice so the information retains. As the mission pledge says, ‘We live honestly, the noble life of sacrifice and service, producing more that what we consume and giving more than what we take.’ This one in a lifetime opportunity gave me and many other tutors the chance to live up to this part in the pledge. We consumed our knowledge and now it is time to pass the knowledge onto the younger students. For me, I have been able to improve my communication skills and it helps so that the people who I talk to fully understand what I am talking about. Teaching the concepts helped me see what I remember from previous grades and verbally teaching would confirm my knowledge on the problem or topic. I would say that tutoring kids was a whole new experience for me. It really opened my eyes up to the lives of different students and the challenges they face from a day to day life. Sometimes, their car broke down and they weren’t able to come to classes for a couple weeks. It made me realize how fortunate we are to have the luxuries in life such as TVs and Xboxes, that we don’t even realize how much others face in life. In addition, our parents are able to provide the materials and knowledge for us to succeed and these students don’t have access to these materials. Tutoring is a great way to get to know your community, help others and yourself. I think that every person should have the opportunity to try it.