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.