By Rachel Schrier, Justice and Legal Thought
Lakeland STARs overall aligns with my passion to learn more about and hopefully take action to eradicate the educational inequality in America that for children is correlated deeply with uncontrollable factors such as race and socioeconomic status.
For the previous two semesters, I have volunteered as a tutor with Lakeland STARs. My tutee, along with a group of her peers, take a bus from Paint Branch Elementary School to Centerville hall where each student meets with their designated tutor for about two and a half hours. This year I have been paired with a second grade student, helping her with her homework, guiding her through a journal entry, and accompanying her with the activity of the week. It has been exciting watching her progress both academically and socially throughout our time in STARs together. Although a primary goal of the program is to better these students’ academic experience, I believe and have witnessed an impact on both myself and my tutee that stretched beyond academics. My tutee is excited to see me every session-- she says STARs is her favorite part of her week-- and tell me about her life. I feel as if I have become a mentor and friend to her, always listening to what she wants to say and building her confidence to feel comfortable expressing herself and striving toward her dreams. Lakeland STARs overall aligns with my passion to learn more about and hopefully take action to eradicate the educational inequality in America that for children is correlated deeply with uncontrollable factors such as race and socioeconomic status. For many STARs students, I assume this after school program is beneficial to their families who may have to work or also may not be able to financially provide the academic support their children need.
Hi Rachel, I found this post really interesting because I have also done a considerable amount of work in tutoring and mentoring, and I know how influential it can be. I can also relate to the feeling when you can play a real role in a student's development, whether it be academically or in other important aspects of their life. I like how you draw out how much inequality there is in education across socio-economic classes. Do you think that COVID-19 and our reliance on access to good technology will bring more attention to the disparity? Do you think schools will take more measures to accommodate for individual needs?
This project stood out to me, because I found it extremely interesting and inspiring how much of a positive impact someone can have on an individual by giving them a stable support system and nurturing environment. This made me learn that even if a person doesn't have much time, they can still join the fight against racial inequality simply by joining programs such as these and providing hope for young students that they can achieve anything they set their mind too. One question I have for you is are you able to keep in touch with your tutee in the future to see what she accomplishes and to keep that extra support system alive?
Your project stood out to me because my roommate volunteered for Lakeland STARs, and it was interesting to see another person's perspective. I learned that it's really important to foster a healthy tutor-tutee relationship, and by being paired with the same tutee you can help them grow academically and personally. What do you think was the most rewarding part of working with Lakeland STARs, and do you see yourself doing similar kinds of service in the future?