Day 6

Today at CCHS was a lot like last week. I returned to the social studies classroom and the teacher told me that Karen would be needing my help again this week. I was excited to talk to her again and hopefully bond more. She seemed excited to see me, which was a good sign.

I enjoy working with Karen so much more than Michael, probably because it is easier to talk to her and she accepts my help. The biggest difference that I've noticed in the two students are their levels of motivation. Michael didn't seem motivated all all- he didn't care about his grades, didn't see college in his future, and didn't want a tutor to help him in class. Karen, on the other hand, has a completely different story. She is a single mother trying to graduate by the end of this year, focused on her schoolwork and getting a job after graduation to support her own son.

This reminds me of the idea of cultural capital that Peter Sacks talked about in his book Tearing Down the Gates. There are certain privileges that I grew up with that I know both Karen and Michael didn't have. My parents read to me every night, for example. They also instilled in me a sense of motivation about school work and going to college after graduation. I assume that Micheal's parents never encouraged him about college, possibly because they didn't go. Karen is mostly motivated by her son, and I'm not sure that she would be so eager to graduate if there were no kids in the picture.

These are things I've been thinking about since I started tutoring at Classic City- and I still don't feel like I have any concrete answers. How can I, as a teacher, change a student's motivation in life and inspire them to dream bigger? How can I convince them that doing their work is worth it because education is important and can help them get a great job? I'll continue to think about these difficult questions as I spend more time with Karen at Classic City.