Clarke Central High School

I was really excited to be in Spanish Service Learning because this semester I got the opportunity to experience a volunteering program I was unaware of in Athens: the Pathways program at Athens Clarke County High School off Millage Avenue. Pathways is headed by Mr. Richard Hill, a literature teacher at Clarke Central, and attendance can range from as large as 30 students to as little as 10. This is a program that the high school offers to students whose first language is not English, attracting mainly Hispanic students. The program allows students to come to a computer lab after school and have full access to the computers, tutors and provides snacks and later bus rides home to give them more opportunities for help in whatever subject(s) they are having trouble in. The most popular subjects in which they have needed help is with math and reading/literature homework.

I have been going on Mondays and Wednesdays to help out and, I must admit, the first time going to the high school was like a blast from the past with all the horrible and funny high school memories rushing back. But
the students take you out of that mindset. They are funny, kind and motivated to work (most of the time). They greatly appreciate bilingual tutors who can better explain plots, scenes or words (like poppet or lechery) in books like Of Mice and Men, The Crucible and Night. At first I just worked with a few girls but after a while I think all the students began to trust me and accept me as a sort of peer and adult figure. It is helpful because they do not act rebellious towards me but when I suggest that they do homework they (usually) listen. My favorite moments are when they tell me about what they want to do with their futures and when they help one other. For example one girl I work with wants to help disabled kids and Mr. Hill and I are on the way to convincing her to go to college! It is really exciting. With the latter they do not realize how much they are helping themselves as well as others, plus it is as if there are numerous tutors throughout the room.

My most shocking experience in tutoring was when we read Night, the holocaust memoir by Eli Wiesel, and the girls I was reading with did not know who the Gestapo, Beethoven or even who Hitler was or what he did. That was probably the most difficult part of my experience. Trying to explain such ingrained history as sort of 'cliff notes' to this work was really difficult. I eventually gave in and made them read the Hitler Wikipedia page in Spanish. It just leads you to reflect so much about your own learning and thought process during high school.


All in all this experience has been a great one because I can live vicariously through all these kids with their hopes, aspirations and fears. I have been able to watch them grow in just a semester and plan on coming back in the Spring. These kids are just too great to only spend time with for one semester! They are the next generation to inherit Athens and it is important that they have people that can not only help them with math and science but can actually listen to them and motivate them to learn. I would strongly recommend this program to anyone interested in volunteering in the Athens community.

Pinewoods Library

This semester I have had the incredible opportunity to spend my Tuesday and Thursday afternoons at Pinewoods Library in Athens, GA up towards Danielsville. Pinewoods Library serves the residents of Pinewoods Estates and mostly draws people of Hispanic descent. Though they have several different volunteer opportunities available, I spent time tutoring and helping elementary children with their homework.

Activities typically varied day by day. Shockingly, it was very difficult at times to make a bunch of elementary school children do their homework. Most of them were friends with one another, which made them especially good at distracting each other. On top of that, there was a constant race to the computers to play games. Because of these distractions, I think my most important role was solely to keep them on task. When I was able to manage their ability to stay focused, we spent a lot of time on math homework. Although I know they were challenged by it, it definitely made me scratch my head a few times as well. It is amazing how much we take calculators for granted as we leave our younger school years. One of my favorite activities was listening to them read aloud. For me personally, it was amazing to see the progress that they would make just from practicing and working hard. It is exciting for me to see their excitement at their own progress. When we weren’t doing academic related things, we spent a lot of time playing games. I loved when we were able to just hang out because that was when we really got to know one another. I love listening to the things kids say and being able to talk to them about the things they want to talk about.

It was rewarding for me personally to give back to the Athens community that has given me so much as far as a strong education and a place I feel at home. I feel like I always come back to it, but we really do get so much out of serving others. It’s amazing how what at first seemed like just giving up my time became something that brightened my days and something that I looked forward to. I strongly encourage UGA students and anyone else that is part of the Athens community to give back, and prepare themselves to be amazed at how much they can get out of it. Tutoring at Pinewoods Library for me was an incredible experience and I would recommend it to anyone.