Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2009, Page 28

Description:	helping one person at a timeThe job of the peer tutor is to motivate the students toreach their goals and show them that they canaccomplish anything when they put their minds to it.ien volunteers were needed to participate in peer tutoring, sophomoreKaylee May thought, why not? Thenit became Mays favorite class. Afterthe first day, it just got better and better, said May.She explained that the peer tutorshad to be flexible because they wouldsynchronize the special education students schedules with their own. Thebest part is being with the kids, the kidsmake me want to do it, said May.Alongside teaching them, she learnedfrom them. I learned to be more patient and flexible with other people,said May.Third trimester, I have peer tutoringfor third period and I help at lunch,said May, who has often had to sacrificeher own lunch time to help the studentseat. Although May worked hard as apeer tutor, she said that a her main jobis being friends with the kids.She loved helping the students andmaking a noticeable difference in theirlives. Being around them makes mesmile, said May. -JAMIE CHANGAccording to Mr. Chris McCauley, themost challenging part of his job as apeer education teacher was not teaching special education students, but tohelp the peers around them acceptthem as equals.Although the peer tutors and specialeducation teachers helped the studentslearn and develop, they still treatedthem as equals. McCauley taught thespecial education students communication skills and encouraged them intheir activities. We hope that whenthe kids leave, they have the skills tolive as independendy as possible, saidMcCauley.McCauley believed that the matterof equality was the main focus of peertutoring. Being a friend and to treatthe kids as an equal, said McCauley.Thats what really matters. -jamtf.CHANGPeer tutors were around-the-clock workers, even off of school grounds. During the school day, junior LindseyBilledo helped the special educationstudents with their assignments knownas New-to-You, played games withthem, and made small talk and conversation. Billedo said simple exercisessuch as those increased the studentssocial skills.Peer tutor junior Daniel McMul-len helped in a less direct way, but hewas just as important. I help vacuumand do laundry. Its a community-based class, said McMullen.However, the class was not limitedto the classroom itself. The studentsoften went to public places such as McDonalds, the YMCA, Fountain SquareMall, Monroe County Public Library,and College Mall to improve their social skills.Billedo ensured that her experiencewith the students was very rewarding.Its a completely different environmentand everyones personality is unique,said Billedo. -JAMIE CHANG281 ACADEMICS \| peertutoring
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/8050
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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