Mondays & Wednesdays

Most Monday & Wednesday evenings you will find me in the corner of this run-down shopping center.  It’s the educational buildings for a local non-profit where I volunteer from 6:00 to 7:30.

I teach math to students who are trying to prepare for tests to obtain their GED certificate.    There are 3 math levels & I teach the middle level.  They start out with the basic group if they don’t know simple arithmetic- how to add, subtract, multiply and divide.

There are some gentleman that teach the advanced level- where to do geometry and very simple algebra.  This is a fun group to teach & I’ve had many of the students who are now in this class.

Every semester (spring, summer & fall) brings a new group of students.  There are no stereotypes- I get young & old, black, white & Latino.  I get high school dropouts, recent immigrants, grandmas and so many different people with unique stories.

All three classrooms are right next to each other, divided by rolling partitions.  From 7:30 to 9:00, they all do one of other subjects on the GED- reading, writing, science and social studies.

My current group of students is really great- they are super sweet & very appreciative.  They work hard and are there almost every class night.

They have become good friends & often help each other out on the faction or decimal problems.   I hear them whispering in Spanish and try to figure out which problems are giving them difficulty.

On Tuesday & Thursday nights, there is an ESL class that is taught in this area. They often have games and interactions where they write things in English about themselves to share with others.  Several of them typed up a story & they were posted on the wall.  There’s something so striking and sad about this story.  Perhaps that so many pieces are missing & there is such much unexplained tragedy.  Perhaps its the simplicity of  the language and story set against such a festive background paper.  I really enjoy volunteering as a way to keep myself grounded & reminded of all the blessings I have to be thankful for every day.  It makes me so happy & excited when one of the students finally gets their GED & can move forward with their plans for a better life.  It’s a huge time commitment on top of my already insane schedule & work travel, but every time I leave I’m certain that this is how I am intended to be spending my time & giving back to my community.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Going to finish my New Zealand album tonight if it kills me…..I worked 10+ hours on it this weekend!