Students of the Month – June 2022
Karen – Age 10
Karen has a very positive outlook on life. I suspect she might not even realize it, since it is so inherently who she is. She is not a complainer; when a task needs to be done, even if she isn’t looking forward to it, she puts her head down and gets it done. She sometimes gets frustrated, but sees challenges as obstacles to be overcome; Karen doesn’t give up, and overcome she does!
We’ve spent a lot of time working on multiplication tables. It’s been a long process, but such an important one to master, as it will set the foundation for so much of her math studies. I tried to impress upon her early on that repetition was going to be key in memorizing the table. Not everyone would have responded well to timed tests, but Karen did. We would practice multiplication by 8, for example, and once we both felt she knew it well enough, we would time her; I kept track of how quickly she completed 100 problems and how many errors she made week over week. It was fun for both of us to see how much she improved her time and accuracy!
Karen would like to be a famous actress and she would like to work as a nurse. She is a constant reminder that a positive attitude gets you far in life!
– Emily DeArkland, Tutor
Joshua – Age 13
What makes Joshua special is the way he has been so faithful in showing up and being dedicated to each tutoring session. He always has a willing attitude and never looks at the clock. On occasion, he asks to continue past the hour, in order to finish what we were working on.
One of his challenges was cross-multiplying. He could do it, but it often took quite a lot of time. We practiced together, using an online game that threw out random numbers to be multiplied within a set amount of time. Using this tool, he was able to significantly improve.
Joshua has expressed interest in becoming a chef. I have been very fortunate that my first School on Wheels student has been so consistently engaged and dedicated. These qualities have led to his improvement.
– Paul Carroll, Tutor
Isaiah – Age 10
Isaiah loves his family. He has a two year old sister and sometimes she will come sit on his lap while we do math or science.
Math has been challenging. We have used Prodigy and YouTube videos to reinforce what he has learned at school. I stay in contact with his mom to find out what he needs to work on.
Isaiah says he would like to go to college and become a Veterinarian, as he loves Marine Animals. He has taught me to be happy and enjoy life even though things are sometimes tough some days.
– Tim Knapp, Tutor