Written Reflection 1

For the time I have been going to Homework Help, I have been seeking inspiration- a cause that comes out of nowhere, that demands my attention and makes me want to write a paper on it. That happened about halfway through our marathon 3-hour long second visit.

I was struck by one instant where I was helping a very cute, funny boy on a big packet. This packet had all of his classes worth of homework in it. We sped through the addition facts, he read a passage or two to me, and copied a lot of spelling words. At the end of the packet, however, was a parental activity that told the guardians of the student to read a slightly more advanced passage slowly to the student. The student would then go back and circle all of the words that have a "short e" sound.

Simply reading a paragraph or two like this per night with a child can lay great foundations in establishing importance of doing homework.

At first I just kind of started reading it to him. Then I stopped, took a moment to think, and ultimately took the packet up to Lee, who seems to be the wisest in such matters. I briefly discussed with him what an interesting position this put me in. Should I do the activity with the child, so that he has no homework to do at home? OR should I save this assignment for him to do with his parents? I don't know this boy's home life situation. His guardians brought him here to "Homework Help" for a reason. But for every problem I do with the boy, that is a missed moment in which his parents could be able to build an academic relationship with him.

I thought back to my parents. My mother was stay-at-home for most of my childhood. She was able to build a great academic relationship with me. She read to me so often that I was certainly ahead of the game going into kindergarten. In fact, the simple act of her reading children's stories to me at a young age might have been the factor that set me on an advanced course. I think back to how important academics are to me. They have certainly become a huge part of who I am. It could have been these important formative moments as a young boy when my mother would sound out words for me that have truly formed who I am today. While volunteering, it is improbable that any of us helpers will have an impact 1/100 of the impact the parents are able to have on these kids.

Saving worksheets like this for home will not change the world.

I then wanted to make the distinction between pure practice (doing times tables, copying spelling words), and meaningful interaction that is best saved between a parent and a child, rather than a weekly volunteer and a child. In my paper, I am going to argue for a change in curriculum, especially regarding homework, to the point where certain lessons can be supplemented at home by a very brief parent/ child interaction. 

This is the direction I will be going in my paper. I am excited to explore the many dynamics at hand, in terms of volunteer tutors/ parents/ teachers/ etc. I am excited to think of new solutions, and see different perspectives while at the public library. There are a lot of things I have surely not taken into account. Every week there are new faces I can think about when approaching the solution to this problem.