Hi, my name is Rebecca and I am a tutor at Boynton Middle School. I work with a program called the Advantage After School program whose main goal is to improve the grades of those that are struggling in school by providing additional homework help. After the homework hour, we have an hour of activities that include playing sports, making arts and crafts, cooking, etc. It is a truly incredible experience every time because we often work with different students depending who needs help. This enables the tutors to make connections with many of the students, who always look forward to seeing us again.
Both students and tutors alike always enjoy the activity portion of the program because it is a time when we can finally relax and just have a good time with one another without worrying about homework and studying. However, I find that the most rewarding part is when a student can actually check off all of the assignments that they had to do that day and know that they accomplishment something important. When I first started volunteering, many of the students saw homework as something they just have to get through and not as a tool that can help them learn. But after two years of working with the students and watching them grow, I can see a change in their attitudes towards learning and towards school in general.
Working with REACH has given me great inspiration for the future. I am able to see how these students, who have always struggled with their schoolwork and have not had any academic motivation, are not only starting to improve their grades but are also developing a greater appreciation for learning.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Welcome to Boynton Middle School Advantage After School Program
Team Leader: Rebecca Zuckerman (rmz28@cornell.edu)
Site Supervisor: Pam Washak (pam.washak@tcaction.org)
Location: 1601 N. Cayuga Street; Ithaca, NY 14850 (right next to Ithaca High School)
This site offers an after school program for the Boynton Middle School kids. It is only a couple minutes away, but getting there by bus requires Bus 10/30 to Commons followed by Bus 13/16. Carpooling will available on (at least) some days. The program is held in various classrooms in the middle school, Mondays-Fridays 3:30pm-5:30pm. On Mondays-Thursdays, there is an hour of homework help followed by an hour of fun extracurricular activities. On Fridays, there are 2 hours of activity time (e.g. cooking club). Tutors are most needed on Monday-Thursday when kids have homework hour. Enrollment tends to slowly build up throughout the year, and it peaked to around 35 kids last year.
Any student of Boynton Middle School (6th-8th graders) can attend the after school program free of charge. Most students, however, tend to have difficulties with academics, so the help is very valuable. The kids do all kinds of homework in all the different subjects; tutors with different specialties are all welcome. Since all the children essentially must do homework Monday-Thursday, there is always help needed and the more tutors the better.
After the hour of homework, there is an hour of fun that includes basketball, teambuilding activities, and other games. It's a lot of fun and tutors are welcome to either help supervise or participate in the activities with the kids. The children then take a bus (or are picked up) around 5:30pm. Thus, the program is only 2 hours a day, yet it really makes a difference for a lot of these kids. The children really appreciate the extra attention and they are simply a lot of fun. The program supervisors (Pam and Brent) are extremely nice and helpful, and its just a great way to spend a couple hours a week to get away from the exams and stresses at Cornell.
Site Supervisor: Pam Washak (pam.washak@tcaction.org)
Location: 1601 N. Cayuga Street; Ithaca, NY 14850 (right next to Ithaca High School)
This site offers an after school program for the Boynton Middle School kids. It is only a couple minutes away, but getting there by bus requires Bus 10/30 to Commons followed by Bus 13/16. Carpooling will available on (at least) some days. The program is held in various classrooms in the middle school, Mondays-Fridays 3:30pm-5:30pm. On Mondays-Thursdays, there is an hour of homework help followed by an hour of fun extracurricular activities. On Fridays, there are 2 hours of activity time (e.g. cooking club). Tutors are most needed on Monday-Thursday when kids have homework hour. Enrollment tends to slowly build up throughout the year, and it peaked to around 35 kids last year.
Any student of Boynton Middle School (6th-8th graders) can attend the after school program free of charge. Most students, however, tend to have difficulties with academics, so the help is very valuable. The kids do all kinds of homework in all the different subjects; tutors with different specialties are all welcome. Since all the children essentially must do homework Monday-Thursday, there is always help needed and the more tutors the better.
After the hour of homework, there is an hour of fun that includes basketball, teambuilding activities, and other games. It's a lot of fun and tutors are welcome to either help supervise or participate in the activities with the kids. The children then take a bus (or are picked up) around 5:30pm. Thus, the program is only 2 hours a day, yet it really makes a difference for a lot of these kids. The children really appreciate the extra attention and they are simply a lot of fun. The program supervisors (Pam and Brent) are extremely nice and helpful, and its just a great way to spend a couple hours a week to get away from the exams and stresses at Cornell.
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