Personal Narrative : The Peer Mentoring Teacher

As an artist, I encourage everyone around me to do things uniquely their way. We all bring our own experiences to our perspective of life, and sometimes we forget that. Being aware of others’ lives is important, but understanding others’ views and feelings is more crucial to fostering a supportive community. Therefore I remember to be sensitive to the issues of those around me. Whenever I recognize a need, I address it without hesitation. At school I provided free tutoring at lunch because I saw my peers were having trouble without individual attention. After two years of trying to singlehandedly fill the gap between student knowledge and in-class teaching, I realized it was fruitless, especially in math as the rigor increased. I joined forces with some classmates to establish our school’s chapter with Mu Alpha Theta and peer-to-peer math tutoring. I don’t seek praise or fame in my help of others; knowing that I am contributing to my community is enough for

This journey will not be a easy task, but I am determined with ambition and dedication to helping those who seek guidance. The smallest gestures can have the most significant influence on someone’s life whether it means helping a student with their homework, or gathering ideas for a group project. “The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope,” as stated by our President. Acknowledging the difference in one’s behavior because you’ve provided them with something they once didn’t have, should make a difference to you. The fondness of knowing that I’ve helped at least

Being a part of my school’s peer tutoring program has been the most gratifying experience of my high school career. As a student, I can relate to those that struggle in a subject and are unable to connect with the material being taught in class. I have worked with students who have lost confidence in themselves because of the difficulty they were having in school. To be given the opportunity to assist students to reach their academic goals is fulfilling. As a peer tutor, I edit essays, share scholarship searches, assist with homework, and provide studying tips and test taking strategies. I enjoy working with my group to develop habits to be more successful.With each higher grade earned, test anxiety relieved, and confident smile of those that I help, I know that the work I am doing is

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that taught you something about yourself and/or the world around you. (maximum 200 words

I have had multiple experiences in the past few years of my life that have greatly impacted me and changed the way that I go about life. During my Junior year, I learned that I had been granted the opportunity to attend the California Boys State program. This program took place during the summer after my junior year, and it was one of the greatest experiences I have ever had. I met hundreds of new people from all across the state. During the program, I made many great friends, and I still talk to a group of around fifteen people from the program. While talking to other people from what seemed so far away, it really opened my eyes to the scale of the entire country, or the world. For once, I truly realized that everybody has their own problems and their own life. Every person that I talked to had a different story and it was very stunning.

Describe a circumstance, obstacle or conflict in your life, and the skills and resources you used to resolve it. Did it change you? If so, how?

I find myself reading this short paragraph over and over(above). My topic sentence makes me happy and proud. Going back to school was the best thing I have done. I chose to talk about going back to school to the “future employer” because it shows I am motivated as well as dedicated. This class has brought a lot to my attention. The mannerism that is expected in the “business world” is to speak and write well. It is extremely important to know how to write (type) a meaning full and proper paper whether it is for school or work. I have noticed a great impact in my vocabulary and writing skills. My boss told me on Monday he is impressed with the new docs I typed up for our new clients (with no help from him). I was not excited about this class

Describe a challenging situation, the obstacles involved, and how your thinking allowed you to stick with the task.

When registration time rolled around in fall 2015, I only needed 12 hours to graduate in May; however, I knew I would be bored and yearned for a class that was meaningful and would end my college career on a positive note. When Dr. May mentioned the mentoring at-risk youth class I was hooked. Although he tried to talk everybody out of it, I knew that this was going to be a perfect fit for me. I have always enjoyed working with youth, whether it was through coaching cheerleading, volunteering in the local elementary school, or spending afternoons at a halfway house for abused and neglected children. By signing up for the mentoring program I was able to try something I had never tried before— using my love for youth to create a lifelong one-on-one

I was surprised when I learned that I didn’t have only one mentor, but I had three mentors. I was anxious as to who was going to be my mentor and felt scared that I wouldn’t be able to create a connection. One of my mentors had work that day, so I had to arrive a little earlier to have a quick talk. I thought this was going to be my only mentor but it wasn’t. I also, have Dani Barajas and Adrian Camacho as mentors.

To begin, this experience was amazing. I learned so much about children’s literacy, and I even saw growth in the 4 weeks I worked with my student, which also made this experience rewarding. I believe this tutoring experience helped me as a future teacher, but also helped the student I was tutoring. At the beginning of the program the student struggles greatly with fluency, all the aspects of it. The student stumbled over words, read words that were not there, had trouble “thinking out” words, and read with no prosody. The first week was spent getting to know the child and what troubles the child faced when reading. Once the second week came around we worked on a phonics review of beginning and ending blends. The student seemed to know the beginning blends but struggled with the ending blends so we spent

Danielle: 3 because she seemed too needy. I found myself being too repetitive with instructions and suggestions that were self-explanatory. I am not discrediting her intellectual ability in anyway but she seemed too disoriented than I would have liked to be. I will commend her for taking the initiative to meeting with me outside of the classroom because I initially approach this assignment with an independent mindset.

Describe a time where you faced a stressful situation or challenge and discuss what skills you utilized to grow.

During the senior high school period, I joined the circle teaching program. Circle teaching program is a volunteer program working to help and teach children from remote poor areas in Guizhou, China, where lacking professional teachers and education facilities. We faced a lot of problems while establishing this program, but I am the person who is ready to help others when people need help.