Tips for Volunteers

EFFECTIVE WAYS TO WORK WITH CHILDREN

1. Be a good listener. Let the student know s/he matters. If a student thinks you are not interested in being with her/him, you will have lost a lot of ground.
2. Encourage students to do their own thinking. Be patient. Give them plenty of time to answer. Silence can mean they are thinking about what they want to say or write. Be sensitive though; do not leave your student hanging if s/he does not know the answer.
3. If you don’t know an answer or are unsure of what to do, admit it to the student(s) and work it out together. Feel free to ask the teacher for help when you need it.
4. Comment or apologize when you make a mistake. It is important that children hear apologies the way adults do, and to know that no one is perfect.
5. Use tact and positive comments. Encourage students. Seek something worthy of a compliment, especially when students are having difficulties.
6. Accept each student as s/he is. Correct a student’s behavior, not the student him/herself.
7. Respect a student’s privacy. If a student or a teacher reveals personal information, regard it as confidential unless it is something dangerous to the student or someone else. If so, tell the teacher or principal before you leave school that day. Otherwise, don’t repeat things children tell you which are personal.
8. Keep your commitment. Consistency is very important. The students expect you and will look forward to your coming to their school. Teachers come to depend on your support. Please make every effort to show up at the agreed upon times. If you need to be absent, please call your teacher.
9. Be gracious and positive about students’ efforts.
10. Maintain a sense of humor. Enjoy yourself!

TIPS ON TUTORING

1. Introduce yourself. Tell students your name and make sure you know their name and how to pronounce it.
2. Be friendly.
3. Talk about common interests before going straight into tutoring.
4. Set expectations before beginning to work. Students need structure and routine, and they need to be aware of the agenda. Let them know how long they will be working on an assignment or task with you and what will take place during that time period.
5. Reinforce skills they already have or already do well.
6. Encourage and guide the students without giving away answers. It’s most satisfying when they can figure it out for themselves.
7. Stay on track as much as possible. When distracted, redirect the student to the task. For example, if a student becomes agitated while working on a writing assignment, focus their attention on something they have already written, redirecting their frustration to an achievement, –Look, I really like the way you described the car here. What happened after that?” Immediately praise positive behavior.
8. When you correct students’ work, –sandwich” corrections between two positive comments
9. Avoid negative remarks such as –you’re wrong.” Use lots of positive, confidence boosting words and phrases like –Great!” –Smart!” –You figured that out!”
10. Let them know they made a mistake by saying: –Let’s try again.” –That was a good try.” –Let me show it to you.” –You’re getting it.” –The first part is right. That’s great. Now let’s work more on the second part.”
11. Remind the student of class rules. Many classrooms have rules posted which have been established by the students and teacher. Firmly and clearly remind the student as to which behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable, acknowledge the student’s feelings and redirect them to appropriate behavior. For example, –Kevin, you know swearing is unacceptable in this classroom. I understand you are angry. You can tell me why you are angry, but you cannot swear at me.”
12. Remember the teacher is ultimately responsible for the classroom environment. If there is ever a situation that requires discipline in the classroom, that is the teacher’s responsibility, not the volunteer’s. When necessary, ask the teacher to reinforce classroom behavior and expectations.