T HE LEARNING ZONE WITH J ULIAN. Marina A. Alvarez Feb 8 th – April 22 nd

I WAS ANXIOUS ….. Working directly with children one on one made me very nervous. Southeast area of Arlington was new to me so I was anxious and nervous at the same time. I really wanted to start my service learning with the children that were going to be at the learning zone. I had no idea of what the learning zone was and what was expected of me.

F EB THE 8 TH …. Was a day full of new things. Was the fist day I went to the learning zone. I was introduce to the learning zone and to things that was expected of me and of the students attending the learning zone. I was exposed to different personalities and new ways to teach students. Found out the teaching students is a difficult but fun task. Most important of all I met JULIAN the child I would be tutoring at the learning zone!!!

J ULIAN AND M E

I N THE PROCESS … She talked to me about the things Julian struggled with. Julian and I got to know each other and agreed that we were both going to give it our best. I talked to Julian’s mom. I enjoyed every minute.

M Y EXPERIENCE WITH J ULIAN. I guess I was lucky to assist a child like Julian. He was very intelligent, dedicated, and he was always eager to do his homework. No matter how much homework was given to him he would always do it and would never complain. He was so sweet and kind. Almost most of the time he would always wait until instructions were given to him on what to do next.

W HAT I LEARNED ….. I learned to be patient and creative when teaching children. I learned it when Julian was unable to figure out the place values. I had to give him some time to get the idea of place values and to identify them. It matters because in the real classroom you will have 28 or 30 students and you really need to have patience then. Children learn better when you give them some time. It really matters to effectively engage the students in the learning process. I will read a lot and I will explore what is out there for children to learn more. I will find ways to engage children and make learning fun.

W HAT I WILL DO IN THE FUTURE … In the future I will do everything I can to pay attention to all my students and help them where they need the help. I will strive to make them the best they can be and be a friend to them as well as their mentor. I will model model and model so they can have some encouragement and motivation to be the best they can be. Sometimes students don’t want to do something and it is not because they don’t want to do it. Sometimes it’s because they don’t know how or what to do.

S OMETHING ELSE I LEARNED.. I did learn that children are very creative and they have a very broad imagination. I also learned that if you wait for the child to respond he will have a very creative thought. I really did not notice any struggles with comprehension or understanding. He knew how to read well. I learned it by listening to Julian read. I also saw that he would use the illustrations to make a conclusion of the main idea or to answer the question that I would ask him. It really matters because students now days are distracted by any little thing.

T OWARDS THE END … I was excited but at the same time sad because the learning zone would be over. I really enjoyed the time I spend with Julian. I also got to know other children at the learning zone. Not everyone learns the same way. I found that out while helping others when the assigned tutor was not available.

W HAT I DID NOT LIKE … I did not like the fact that sometimes we there was two tutors for one child. To me that is unrealistic and was unable at times get the real feeling of having one of me and many of them. Sometimes the parents did not take the learning zone serious. I also did not like the fact that the learning zone would soon be over.

T ABLE 7 AND THE COUNTING BEARS. This is where Julian and I worked on his homwork. The counting bears were a huge help. They help me keep Julian focused and they kept him engaged and eager to do his Math

O VERALL.. I am happy with my experience and the time I spend with Julian. Students at times struggle but if teachers support them and give them what they need almost all of the time they are successful. Patience is the greatest asset anyone can own. Dedication and hard work take you places you never imagined. The many times that I worked with Julian were to me times of hard work and dedication from his part and mine.