Tutoring Experience

This semester we have studied the diversity of educational systems in the world as well as the similarities that transcend national borders. Working with students of many different cultural backgrounds and tutoring them on their academic subjects has not only been a challenge but a tool in understanding the themes in this course. On one of the first days of class, Dr. Armento came to teach us about ways of connecting with students from different countries with different educational backgrounds. She gave us strategies and informed us of the challenges we would face in working with these kids. After working with these multicultural students at Fernbank Elementary School, I have found these tools helpful and necessary in tutoring. To teach, you must first understand that your student may have outside circumstances or be accustomed to a different style of learning than you are prepared to use. As an educator, you must alter your approach to cater to the needs of the student. For example, I was having trouble with one Hispanic student who could not distinguish the different classification between animals and people; for example, she thought that tigers were just another gender like male or female. I tried explaining to her the difference, but she did not understand. It was not until I used pictures and the grouping method (Demonstrated by Dr. Armento) that she understood the concept. In this course we have learned that it important to observe other educational systems and learning to better our own. If we adjust our own ways to implement some techniques used by other countries, it may be easier to educate our own students while also helping students from other areas of the world succeed.