October 15, 2007
I am sitting here in the Mammoth Lakes Public Library and awaiting my first day of a tutoring program I am starting up here in Mammoth. I am really excited for the chance to plan my own curriculum and incentives for the students, and to have a little more flexibility than I had tutoring at Mammoth Elementary School. The tutoring is free of cost, and thus I am hoping to target the low-income demographic up here in Mammoth that isn't able to take advantage of Husky Club, the incredible after school program in place, but that is not free of charge. Furthermore, it is this group of students that I believe may need the tutoring most, since a large majority of them are from immigrant families where English is not spoken in the home and often the parents don't know enough English to help with the students' homework.

I am excited because not only do I love conversing in Spanish and love working with ESL students, I really believe that this group needs to be supported early on so that they are given equal opportunities later in life. From working in the Elementary School, I have seen there is an incredible need for ESL teachers here in Mammoth, since the schools are over 50% English as a second language students, with their primary language being Spanish. The teachers are, by California law, not allowed to teach in Spanish, however I have seen firsthand how some children come into the schools knowing no English and are completely left behind. I hope to help bridge this gap, since there are no restrictions on me teaching in Spanish, to help these students catch up to the rest of the class.

I know a big challenge of beginning this tutoring will be finding a location that is easily accessible to the students. Right now the library is in the process of moving buildings to an ideal location right next to the schools, and close to the low-income housing. Hopefully I will be able to relocate in less than a month, but for the time being, I will be in the old location that is somewhat more isolated. But I will try my best to get the word out in the meantime!

One of the incentives I want to have for the students that come to tutoring is a chart, where they can get a stamp for every day they come and complete their homework with a good attitude and to the best of their ability. The chart is going to resemble the Olympic stadium in Beijing! I am looking forward to, amidst the tutoring, sharing with them about my running, and how it has taught me about hard work and setting goals in a way that they can relate it to working hard in the classroom. Hopefully, a child at a time, I can begin to make a difference up here in Mammoth!