First Reflection

Brianna Tunggal

Tuesdays 3:15

Taft Math Center

Ms. Brugos

jessie.thomasbrugos@menloschool.org

For each PACT visit, I tutored 4^th graders on Tuesdays from 3:15-4:00 at Menlo.  We usually start out with a basic warm-up on whiteboards, then we work with them on their homework.  Their homework consists of straightforward math problems (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) or word problems.  If they finish their homework early, we play math games with them. 

Before starting to tutor, I thought we were going to be working with the students one on one.  As it turned out, Menlo doesn’t have quite enough tutors to work individually with the students.  I ended up working with one girl, Jennifer, for all 3 visits, and helping her friends that happened to sit at the table group with her.  Because I worked with so many kids, I noticed that all of the kids I’ve helped work at different rates and are more/less comfortable with basic multiplication than others.  Addressing the social issue of the teacher : student ratio, students who are more unfamiliar with the material or work at slower paces wouldn’t be able to keep up in a large class.  While Jennifer knows her multiplication tables extremely well, her friend Kaileen doesn’t.  Thus, it takes Kaileen a much longer time to complete her homework.  Having tutors really helps students like Kaileen who don’t work as quickly, because we’re able to explain the concepts to her at the pace she’s most comfortable at. 

I feel accomplished volunteering to help tutor Taft kids in math so far.  I like helping the kids work through problems and explaining things they don’t understand to them.  It’s also really nice when you teach a kid a concept, and they remember it and use that concept on the next problem they work on.  I’m excited to continue working with these students!

Blog Instructions

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR PACT ENTRIES

Please write TWO blog entries (approx. 250 words each) about your PACT service work. You will write one entry after you’ve completed your first THREE visits to your site and the other entry after you’ve completed all SIX visits. Post your entries to your advocacy’s blog so that your peers can see and comment on what you’ve done.

ENTRY CONTENT

1. Do not waste your 250 words describing how you got to the site or listing inconsequential details about every action you performed while there. Give us the information that matters. Analyze what was going on below the surface of your actions or interactions. Keep in mind the social issue(s) you are trying to solve. Surface-level entries will not receive full credit.

2. Consider incorporating answers to the following questions:

• Before beginning your PACT, you probably had preconceptions about your organization, your issue, and/or the population you were going to serve. What were they, and how did your PACT work challenge those preconceptions?
• Did you discover anything about yourself through your service work? Were you at all surprised by your emotional reactions over the course of your service?
• Do you believe you had an impact through your service? If so, what did you accomplish?

ENTRY FORMAT

At the top of each entry, list the following information. Then, skip a space and begin writing.

Your Name

Date and Time of PACT Visit

Organization Name

Supervisor’s Name

Supervisor’s Contact Information