What People Are Saying
Learning How to Age
Claudine Paris, Experience Corps member
I am in my sixties and I am learning how to age from the Experience Corps members on my team. They are in their eighties and living life to the fullest. They are teaching me how to grow old.
The Russian Word for "Shell"
Patricia Smith, Experience Corps member
I worked with one girl whose family had just moved here from the Ukraine. She had been a good student in the Ukraine and was frustrated by not doing well here. One story we read was about Native Americans, and included a picture of seashells. The next time she came in she brought a conch shell from a trip she had taken when her family lived in Eastern Europe. She wanted to tell me the Russian word for "shell."
This was our first connection. Now she teaches me Russian words as she learns to read. It makes her proud to teach me.
Okay, Miss Mary, Here Goes!
Mary Mischke, Experience Corps member
I worked with one little boy from Pakistan last year. He was doing well learning to speak English, but it was like his mind shut off when he opened a book. He absolutely refused to read.
One day he turned to me and said, "Why should I learn to read, anyway?"
"Because the president said so," I answered.
That made him grin ear to ear! He picked up the book and said, "Really? Okay, Miss Mary, here goes!"
At the end of the year he told me he never wanted to even try reading, but now he wants to try during the summer.
Find a Word
Betty Kasser, Experience Corps member
I was assigned a boy who was always in the office, because he always got in trouble. One day we were working on reading and he got up out of his chair and started acting up. This was the behavior that always got him into trouble.
I told him to open the dictionary, find a short word and write it down. He did it! I could not believe it. He still has trouble keeping still, of course, but now we play games looking for words in the dictionary and it helps to settle him down.
The North Star
Sally Wells, first grade teacher, Davis Elementary School
The Experience Corps member in my class is like the North Star. Kids know she will always be there and they can always count on her for the help they need. The room lights up when she walks in.
She Knew Me Before I Could Read
Emma Harris, teacher, Davis Elementary School
The Experience Corps tutor is a seamless partner with me in the classroom. She always comes when scheduled and focuses on the kids. She works with first and second graders so the older ones have known her for two years.
My students say, "She knew me before I could read!" because she was so integral to their learning how to read.