There have always been those who have and those who have not. Of course, there is also a whole range between, and for children, that can create a whole range of unique issues.
For so many children, life is not a series of milestones to be checked off; it is more a series of events survived, but an atmosphere of survival usually sets a tone for academic success to fall by the wayside. Research has shown that frequent school transitions and grade retention widens the performance gap among stabilized students and students in transition—being retained a grade often increases the drop-out rate, and for every school change, a year is lost of education. A surviving child tends to have a higher school absence rate, lower academic and test achievement scores, a higher chance of dropping out, and a lower chance of attending a post-secondary institution.
There are extreme and complex reasons why a child may perform below average: domestic violence, abuse, neglect, mental illness among family members, homelessness; social reasons: single-parent homes, absent parent(s), unemployment/underemployment =poverty/stress, parents with different
cultural background; and internal reasons: learning obstacles such as undiagnosed vision or hearing problems, behavioral issues such as ADD/ADHD.
When I first began tutoring, my vision was of freelancing in the afternoons while my newborn slept or went to the park with the babysitter. I thought I’d work with kids and would lose the babyhead
for a couple of hours in the afternoons. My degree is not in education, but a mish-mash of eight years of English, Political Science, Economics, Creative Writing, Linguistics, Psychology, Speech-Hearing Science, and a minor in Spanish. I worked in MarCom and High Tech. What did I know? My work experience had been with infants to preschoolers and K-8 students, and I thought I would focus on the middle school age range—those students on the cusp of great, grown-up things and still so childlike.
I had worked with a student from a have-not family of origin (young, drug addicted mother, deceased father, physically abusive grandmother) who was adopted by a loving, supportive family
that had bounties to give him (love, shelter, food, toys, money, fine clothing). He was no longer in the “have-not” category, but he still had spent his first six years living in uncertainty, fear, and disappointment and this greatly affected his outlook. Working with this youth and developing a relationship with his family changed my outlook on life, and I wanted to work with more families and students who needed this kind of help. When I put that first ad into The View, Mt. Baker's local neighborhood newsletter, I offered tutoring in all core subjects for kids in grades 4-8 with behavioral or minor learning challenges.
We now offer tutoring for K-12 students from all walks of life at many levels of ability and performance. It is gratifying to work with students who have already manifested a love of learning. At the same time, it is rewarding to work with students who are not checking off the milestones, who have their own challenges to overcome. Last year, we developed a scholarship for families who would benefit from supplemental educational services, but for whom the cost was debilitating. This year, we have begun a sliding fee scale. We exist to help families whose children need help— through after-school care, Homework Help, tutoring, preschool, and learning assessments and test preparation—regardless of economic status.
