Madeleine Stewart Professor Rankin ENGL 121 B 14 November 2013 Short Assignment 4 We spend an enormous amount of time and

energy diagnosing potential problems with our education system and pitfalls for disadvantaged children, but what children lack most is not textbooks, critical thinking exercises, or the newest development in curricula. What children need, more than anything else, is to be shown that their learning is important and that someone cares about what they are doing. We worry about children falling through the cracks, but refuse to acknowledge that these children rarely have valuable interactions with a teacher or mentor. It makes sense that children need these interactions, and this need isnt unique to children. Effort has to be worth something. Selfmotivated work has to be started validated. Disadvantaged children and their more privileged peers both need positive interaction in relation to academics for children to stay inspired. Few places accomplish this better than Horn of Africa Services (HoAS). Its an average weeknight at HoAS. Although outside it is dark and the air is turning frosty, the inside is glowing with lights and the pure energy of the children inside. A boy opens the door for me and then continues his trajectory around the room among the mob of students of all ages clambering on and off of chairs, scribbling with pencils, and chattering with tutors and each other. Brightly colored scarves and skirts add ornament to the room. In reality, the chaos is closely regulated by Fahmo and the other employees of HoAS (the quietest table gets candy, which achieves profound results), but to the casual

observer it is a burst of light, color, and ever-increasing disorder radiating in the autumn darkness. Today is Wednesday and Im tutoring Abdi, a kindergartner with a smug smile and a penchant for Green Eggs and Ham. His task is to practice his writing by transcribing the lines of his favorite book. Although his enthusiasm for reading never wanes, he is easily sidetracked when it comes to writing, and I have to give him my undivided attention in return for several sentences of writing. His mother, circling, occasionally stops to stand behind him authoritatively and inspect his work, during which Abdi manages a little more focus. Abdis enthusiasm for Dr. Seuss is unparalleled, but to finish his work he needs lots of positive encouragement. Its unrealistic to expect a kindergartner to understand the importance of an education; having someone who can help him cultivate academic habits (whether a parent, teacher, or tutor) is a necessity. Abdi finishes his homework, and I move on to Subira, a girl struggling with long division. Shes noticeably tired but she has an air of determination and works hard to remain focused. Although its difficult work for her, she improves remarkably over the course of the half hour, and I can tell that shes making as great an effort as possible. Many eraser streaks and pencil scrawls later she has finished her homework, tucked her notebook and paper into her backpack, and breathes a sigh of relief. While motivation is not a problem with her, she struggles with the material and needs help breaking it down. Teachers rarely have this kind of extra time in the classroom and parents may not know the subject well enough offer guidance. Subiras determination will carry her far if she has someone to help her with her work.

My last student for the day is Sefu, a ninth-grader caught in the intricacies of math word problems. It is hard to get him to focus and he clearly wants to show that he doesnt care about his homework. Hes sitting near his friendsits obvious that hes used to playing the clownand his lack of attention borders on disrespect. He resists thinking about his math problems, answering my questions with a disinterested, I dont know. Working with him is frustrating, and it makes me wonder how we as a community can prevent children from backing into an academic corner. I think about Abdi and Samira, both entranced in their own way with the elements of the classroomAbdi, with his nonstop, Dr. Seuss-inspired chatter, and Samiras fascination with mental math. Both are on track to becoming model students and college applicants, as they blossom academically day by day under the attentive eye of the HoAS tutoring center. When trying to better our schools we can talk about buying new textbooks and renovating schools; we can analyze the pros and cons of standardized tests, but its clear that the best solution for students who feel neglected by the system is to show them that others care about what theyre doing. All that mattered to Abdi was not that his Dr. Seuss book was published in 1960, but that someone was there to read it with him.