College Students’ Tutoring Work Is a Win-Win
When the College shifted to the Yellow Phase of its COVID-19 protocols, it was a green light for eight Principia students to venture off campus to tutor students at the Boys & Girls Club of Alton. The partnership between the College’s Educational Studies Department and the Boys & Girls Club began five years ago as an experiential learning opportunity for students in Ed Block—a semester during which majors in the department take only educational studies courses, which frees up their schedule for off-campus, field-related activities.
“It’s a perfect opportunity for the students to interact with children,” says Principia College Assistant Professor of Education Carol Burbee. “It helps them practice their skills in classroom methods and management as well as in childhood and adolescent development.”
With Illinois public schools commencing the school year remotely, the Boys & Girls Club of Alton transformed itself into a remote learning center. Kids are bussed to the Club every morning to do their online schooling in an environment that’s conducive to focused learning and has support available. Twice a week, Principia students tutor the children, which not only boosts academic performance but supplies some of the one-on-one interaction students are missing during remote learning. Each Principia student is partnered with two Club members and spends at least an hour with each child in various areas of study.
Principia sophomore Jacob Sablan looks forward to his weekly visits. “I’ve built a really cool relationship with my kids,” he says. These relationships were built on time, cooperation, trust, and reassurance. “These kids are really bright kids, but they are really hard on themselves,” Jacob adds. To address that, figurative walls need to be broken down—walls of low self-esteem, below-grade-level reading abilities, and other learning challenges.
One of the walls Jacob has chipped away at is one student’s diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He and the young boy discussed what they could do to break down this barrier. The boy—a constant doodler—shared with Jacob that his teacher wouldn’t allow him to doodle during instruction. Jacob tried a different approach. They made an agreement that Jacob would ask questions and, if the boy could answer the questions correctly, he could continue to doodle. “We found he was comprehending the lesson, just in his own way,” Jacob says. When the boy answered incorrectly, he erased part of his doodle and then redrew it when he got the answer correct. While the picture had nothing to do with the subject matter, it helped him stay focused on the lesson.
This experience solidified Jacob’s own classroom lessons. “We’d just been learning about educational literacies and how different students learn in different ways,” Jacob recalls. “It was really cool to pair the classes we’re taking at the College with this experience in the field.”
“It’s crucial for our practice as educators that we are having these experiences with children,” Burbee says. “And it’s crucial for the children that they have this tutoring support. It’s a beautiful relationship that we’re both benefitting from.”
Boys & Girls Club of Alton Executive Director Al Womack Jr. agrees. “Given everything we are going through—with our kids being totally remote—having someone who can help explain the assignments and show them ways to approach their lessons has been a positive,” he comments. Womack is confident these relationships will pay off in tangible ways. His goal is for 100 percent of his Club members to be on the honor roll this quarter. “With the Principia partnership, we’ve positioned our kids to do well. It is a win-win for our organization and our students.”