Our First TTRM Session

Today we went to DYE to meet and begin mentoring the 3rd graders for the first time. The high schoolers rode to DYE in Kelly's minivan and the SRO officer's policecar. They had already turned in permission slips to be able to do this. Some days, we may have to walk to DYE, but today was so cold, I'm glad we drove there instead. The SWA students are not allowed to have their coats on during school, so it would have been pretty miserable walking in the cold, even though the school is across the street. DYE is actually across the street, up a hill, and across the parking lot from SWA.

Once we got there, we handed the secretary a list of students, and DYE's principal walked us over to a portable where we got the whole room to ourselves with the 3rd grade mentees. I thought it was a nice place for the mentoring to take place since we had space and didn't have to worry about being noisy. Kelly introduced herself and the high schoolers to the 3rd graders, and then let the mentors and mentees each pick out a colored pencil to see who their partner would be. Each mentor sat by his/her new mentee who picked his/her matching colored pencil. For the first few minutes, the mentors conversed with the 3rd graders, and then they started guiding them through the student magazine (Great Lives: Louis Pasteur). Kelly and I monitored while they were working together. As I walked around, I reminded some of the mentors of the order to go in the magazine and of the reading strategies. The mentors seemed to be doing a good job, and the 3rd graders were participating. One mentor, in particular, caught my attention because he seemed very interested in guiding his 3rd grader. He was encouraging and helped his mentee with difficult words, and I also saw him give his mentee a high five. He was talking in a clear voice so that the mentee could understand him, and he seemed to be giving clear instructions.

Another mentor, though, was not talking or guiding his mentee enough through the session. He seemed very shy, so Kelly and I need to make sure he practices more before the next session. I intervened a few times to help his 3rd grade mentee answer the questions in the magazine. He told her to read the section, but did not go in the correct order or use the reading strategies we previously discussed in class at SWA. He was not helping her find the answers to the questions, and I could tell that she was having a hard time following his guidance.

As we were monitoring, Kelly quietly told me that a mentor we had brought was not excited about coming today and that the SRO officer didn't want him to be there because he had been kicked out of his school for gang involvement. Today, however, Kelly pointed out to me that he smiled more than anyone else even though he had previously been unenthusiastic about mentoring.

When we were lined up waiting for the SRO officer to pick up the students to bring them back to SWA, I asked some of the high schoolers how they felt about mentoring. One girl told me that she enjoyed it, and she likes helping kids. She also assured me that she is not a "bad kid;" she went to DYE for elementary school and saw some of her past teachers, and she didn't want them to think negatively about her. Overall, she was excited to be at DYE and to mentor her 3rd grader. She said that she felt confident about it.

The guy that Kelly had pointed out to me earlier told me that he liked the mentoring today, but he wasn't used to being around kids. I think he will feel more confident next time since he has experience now.

I will go back on Friday to tutor newer mentors so they will be more effective next time. Overall, though, today was successful, and I can't wait to hear feedback from Kelly, the SWA students, and DYE teachers.