Tutoring My First Student

This was it.  The day was finally here where I would put a parent’s hopes and dreams in my capable hands.  Their child needed help and it was now up to me to see an action plan followed through.  Would the student be accepting of the hard work ahead of them or were they being forced to tutor?  I would find out soon enough-if there was a facade of layers built up over time.  I checked over my paperwork before I left the office, goal sheet, intake assessment, parental on site signatory form-all here.  

Arrived.  I knocked on the door and three faces immediately gave entrance to hope.  Which one was my student?  Wow a 64” big screen television was eight feet from the door.  I noticed a couch, on the West wall, a love seat on the East wall, and in the far corner next to the television was a wood fireplace covered with Barbie dolls along with boxes of some sort of action figures in sealed plastic boxes.  The path of light was no where to be found neither on the ceiling or as an upright.  How did anyone read in this room?  I noticed after introductions of the Three that a young man I would be tutoring held back down the unlit hallway and reluctantly walked toward me, shy, unsure, and stumbling over his foot.  I held out my offer of reassurance, peace, and authority and he accepted and grasped my hand.  Marc advised he was in the 7TH grade at Firhills Junior High.  Marc’s mom (Brianne), sister (Mary), and Step dad (Larry)-the Three advised tutoring would take place at the kitchen table.  I only needed to walk six steps from the ingress and I was in the kitchen.  Marc and I sat at the kitchen table and I introduced myself and took the mindset from his body language that he was being forced to tutor.  I had a wall to crumble before he would “buy-in” to the tutoring gig before him.  I explained that the process of tutoring was not painful but I would need to administer an assessment to be able to evaluate where his math and English skills.  Marc advised he was in advanced math and had just fallen behind.  I let him know that every student has to take the assessment.  Marc was given one hour to complete the assessment and during that time I meet with both parents.  Brianne advised me that Marc’s dad had suddenly died in October and the shock and grief was interfering in his ability to concentrate in school.  Marc was a solid “B” student peppered with a “C,” but at this juncture he had a “D” in math.  Brianne indicated that Marc had spoke with his school counselor after she notified the school of the death.  There had been no follow-up counseling since then with the family outside of the school system.  

Marc came into the living room and handed me the assessment that took him an hour to complete.  I went over the rules again stating that an adult had to be at every tutoring session and must sign the parental on site form at the completion of each session.  Each tutoring meeting would be no less than an hour and half.  Anything less than that is not worth either parties time.  “I will be back for the next tutoring session and go over your assessment.”