Happy Hour

Once upon a time ago, I was told in a faculty meeting that, I couldn't just recommend to my students to come to tutoring; I had to make them. But what about when 50% of your students need tutoring. Here I am at 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon finishing up my prep because three of my students needed tutoring. And one of them, who was on a self-sabotaging wild streak the first semester really needed the help. I just didn't have the heart to turn her away. She is finally starting to turn around academically and behaviorally. How could I squash her efforts by refusing to help, when I "made" her do the all the conferences and "made" her share accountability for her education.

This tutoring thing really has my wheels spinning. The most qualified person to tutor is the classroom teacher that knows how his/her assignments should be completed to affect learning. The least likely person to tutor after school is the worn out classroom teacher that doesn't want to stay after school to accommodate all their students after they spent so much time prepping the lesson in the first place.

I know my tutoring efforts have really helped several of my students develop into more organized self-directed learners. This is why I keep doing it. I just wish there were 10 more hours in the day, so I could get enough sleep, get my prep done, and still have a life.