Saturday was my first day of tutoring and actually getting paid for it. Part of my role was calling the parents to confirm that they were planning on their child participating and to give them some details including what time the bus would come to pick them up. Those conversations gave me an idea of the home life of the third graders I'd be working with. One obviously speaks Spanish at home since his mother handed the phone to her husband. Two live with their grandmothers. When one mother found out we would be meeting in a church she made it very clear in her broken English that that wasn't an option. I handed that off to my supervisor as I'm not sure what the other options are.
Saturday morning we had some of the usual first day issues. Several kids missed their bus, more because the bus driver didn't actually stop and wait than because they weren't ready. The grandmother of one of the girls in my group called to say they came out of their building just in time to see the bus drive away. Hopefully that wrinkle will be worked out next week. I started with two boys who are in different classes at the same school. Later on two girls were added to my group for the day. For the most part they were motivated but since everyone was in one big room they were easily distracted. "Why do they get to play a game?" "Why are we eating lunch when no one else is?"... I think it would be much easier if each group had its own room but that isn't an option. They were attentive in the morning but attention waned after we ate. Hopefully I'll be better organized next week. Now I know better what to expect and what to be ready for. Being there from 8:30 to 3:30 seems like a long day especially on a Saturday. At least I'm not dealing with the kindergartner whose tutor said he spent the afternoon saying, "I want to go home."
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