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The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
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Empowering After School Program
Some are great;
some are little rascals
By Cade McGlinch, Edison Volunteer
The After School Program is a program to help students with their
homework after school. I learned many things from various kids
during the program. I also thought that there were a few things
that could have gone better. Some kids were great; on the other
hand, some kids were little rascals.
One of the things that I learned from these nice kids is that they have
a very short attention span. I would be talking to the little boy or
girl about their homework and the next second they will be talking
about their favorite sports team. It was difficult at first to make
sure my kid was doing his or her work and not getting off topic.
I saw how our supervisors handled the difficult kids, so I told them,
“Don’t make me get Mr. Robinson.” That trick usually worked for
all of my kids.
A difficult thing about the After School Program is the students
telling me they have no homework, but they actually have
homework. This has happened to me multiple times because I feel
that the kids think that if they don’t have any homework they can play
games with their friends instead of working. I found out the
students were not being honest when I checked their folder and saw they
had homework to do. I took away their games until they got their
homework done. The kids then learned to do their homework first;
then they would play games after the work was completed and checked by
me.
I only had one or two students the entire time that would not listen at
all. I tried to become friends with the child so he would listen
to a friend. I tried to read the homework questions myself and
have the student answer. I tried making the student go into a
quiet room with me. None of the strategies worked, so I went to Mr.
Robinson and told him what I tried, unsuccessfully. Mr. Robinson
then took the child himself and worked with him personally. For some
reason the students listened to Mr. Robinson more than anybody
else. This made the child work and get their homework done.
Finally.
The After School Program is a great program. It is great when
there are multiple Edison students helping out all the students because
the kids think we are the “cool kids” or “big kids.” A great
amount of work and effort has gone into this program for these kids to
get better grades and do better in school. I truly believe that this
program has impacted all of those students’ future in a great way.
A few of the kids that I worked with at the beginning of the program
could not read at their grade level. They worked hard and read more and
more each day. At the end of the program those kids could read at
their grade level and some could even read higher than their grade
level. It is outstanding to see the progress those kids have made
since the program started. I imagine that feeling is the same
feeling that all of our volunteers get when they see their students
improve from start to finish.
My work in the After School Program was a great experience. There
was a lot of improvement from every student and that makes me proud to
be their tutor. I would recommend this program to any struggling
student who would like a little help. The tutors do a great job
and they each have their little buddies. We can all thank
Empowering Darke County Youth for their hard work and dedication to
this program and each student.
Cade has completed 24 hours in Empowering Darke County Youth’s After
School Program on the Edison State Darke County Campus. To get details
about his assignment, go to Edison Students Speak Out
To get more details about Empowering Darke County Youth and the After
School Program, go to the Empowering
Darke County Youth link.
This opinion is being published with permission, and was chosen for CNO
readers due to the quality of the assignment submission and relevance
of the topic. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of County
News Online or Edison State Community College.
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