Tutor and mentor a child or teen once a week for at least a semester.
Will I be an effective tutor or mentor?
See how you stack up with these common "good tutor traits":
- Genuinely enjoys children or teens
- Desires to "put back" in community and help young people
- Is reliable
- Is a good listener and communicator
- Takes time to talk to and work with teacher
- Takes time to meet and talk to a parent or other family member
- Builds child's self esteem by giving lots of praise, sharing that everyone
makes mistakes, and teaching about other aspects of life
- Recognizes that children often feel overwhelmed and need someone to say
"you can make it." Many don't get much positive time with an adult.
- Realizes that just a couple of hours a week can really make a difference
to a child.
What's in this for you?
Most tutors and mentors feel they get much more out of these
relationships than they put in. The bottom line is that you provide support
to a young person so that he or she can gain confidence and "make it" in
math or science.
How do I get started?
- Pick a site that is convenient for you.
- Call—or better yet, e-mail—the site's coordinator.
- Share with coordinator your commitment and availability, as well as the
age and subject area you'd like to work with.
- Find out what resources are available—manipulatives, books, games,
computers, learning software.
- Get the name and phone number of your child's math or science teacher.
Try to contact
and figure out how to communicate about homework, tests and skills.
- Find out parent or other family member's name and phone number. Make
contact and figure out how to communicate with each other and child.
- Go prepared. Children often forget homework or say they "have nothing
to do." Always have an activity or some problems ready. Help children
manage their time and keep track of their assignments and schedules.
- Take time to get acquainted. At every session, spend some time to share
interests,to ask what's going on at school, and generally to build
relationships.
What kind of on-going support is there?
Here are some ways we may be able to help you — and we are open to your
ideas!
Math and Science Resource Clearinghouse
The Coalition's clearinghouse includes simple experiments and information
about people willing to help children learn about math- and science-related
careers. You may do some experiments to show your children how math is used
in science or make arrangements for someone to share information about a
career your child is interested in.
Share Special Events
Periodically, we work together to take our children and teens on a field
trip, to
bring them on campus for a special tour or outing, to provide a career
discussion panel, to take them to an athletic or musical event, or whatever
else we think might be fun. Just let your site's program coordinator know
what your ideas are and see if we can make it happen!
Site-Based Support and Training
Each school or community site offers an orientation and support.
Be sure to talk with the site coordinator about problems, concerns, or
training needs.
