Ayodele was 20  minutes late and had done only a sentence or two of homework. I think she could feel my frustration so I decided to come straight to the point.

“Ayodele, this is  going to be our last class. We’re only meeting every other week, and we’re not accomplishing as much as we should because of it. You’re trip to Africa is coming up in a few weeks, and I’m ready to take a break. Let’s make this our last class and when you return from your trip, you can call Literacy Advance and get put on the list for a new class.”

She cried. I felt bad about hurting her feelings, but I was tired of spinning my wheels tutoring someone who didn’t take the work as seriously as I did. I’m burned out and will be taking a break from tutoring all together.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

When I arrived at Literacy Advance this morning, I had time to discuss the new policy with a staff member, K*, before meeting with Ayodele. K explained the new policy and gave me a copy.

Ayodele arrived and, as always, I asked to see her homework. She didn’t do it…again. I told her before we started our lesson this morning, we needed to go over a new Time and Attendance Policy. The pertinent issue for her is attendance. The new policy indicates if there are five absences, excused or not, the student may be asked to leave. I showed Ayodele our attendance list and it already had three absences for this session, and that didn’t even count those that weren’t documented.

I told her I was concerned that when she left for Africa (which will be as soon as she gets her travel documents), she’d miss more classes and be asked to leave. She is planning to be gone for two months and thought she could simply let the staff know and we would put our sessions on hold. She doesn’t want to be asked to leave. I suggested we discuss this with a staff member.

I asked K to join us and explained Ayodele’s concerns. Our talk resulted in the following: When Ayodele leaves for her two-month trip to Africa, she will leave the program. When she returns, she will call Literacy Advance and be put on the waiting list; at the top of the list because she’s an ongoing student. She will be matched with a new tutor.

I will be taking a break when Ayodele leaves for Africa and will be deciding what I want to do. I’m not sure if I want to continue tutoring right away or search for a new volunteer activity. I have learned a great deal through my volunteer work with Literacy Advance and don’t want to give it up. However, I do want to spread my wings and see what else is out there for me.

* Names changed to protect the student’s and staff member’s identity.

Coming to class every other week and learning for three hours, with no work in between, means she isn’t learning anything. There has been such an absence of commitment that she has made no progress. In fact, she has backsliding at an alarming rate. This cannot continue.

I am going to take the blame for this because if the student isn’t learning one must first take a look at the teacher. I’m looking and don’t like what I see. I have allowed Ayodele to continue her habits for far too long. At first, my thinking was, “She forgot to do her homework, she’ll do it next time.” or “Give her a break, she has to work when they call her.” However, I’ve come to realize her lack of commitment isn’t only affecting her, it’s affecting me and other potential students I could have who are motivated to learn.

Ayodele has lofty goals…getting her GED, passing the Citizenship Exam, and more…and she isn’t going to meet any other them at the rate we’re moving. We need to talk.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

We caught up for a while and she brought up the subject of truth. She said when she calls home and asks her daughter a question, the daughter answers in a way that will please her mother. However, her son, who was born and raised in the U.S. until he was five, tells the absolute truth.

She said the African culture has a different perspective on answering questions. You answer questions to please. That’s they way it is in families, in business and in government. Ayodele thinks it’s better to tell the truth even if it’s not something the asker wants to hear.

At her bakery job, her supervisor asks her group to tell her if there is something that could be done better. She reminds them that she doesn’t know everything and that she can learn from then. However, telling her there is nothing wrong, or nothing can be improved, when it can be improved, serves no purpose. Ayodele admires that and tells it like it is. I like that too!

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity

This story, about a dog named Daisy, made me laugh. In fact, I can’t get the picture out of my mind!

“Her name was Daisy. Daisy was a good dog. I knew Daisy since I was small. She was part of our family. Then one time my auntie had a baby, Thomas. She left me and Thomas in the house and went to the grocery store. Thomas took a nap. When he woke up he crawled out on the veranda, where Daisy was nursing her newborn puppies. Thomas was hungry so he joined them. When I went outside I saw Thomas nursing with the puppies. I was scared. When my auntie got home I told her what happened. She said Thomas would be fine.”

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

The first story we read was about hopes and dreams. It basically mirrored Ayodele’s hopes and dreams. She told me that here, in America, you have to know how to read and write to do anything, even survive. Back in Africa, it helps to read and write, but it’s not necessary.

Ayodele has big hopes and dreams. She wants to get her citizenship and go to college. She wants to bring her husband and children to the US where they can all have a better life. We have such a long way to go that it’s hard to see the end. Sometimes it feels almost impossible. That’s when I remind myself that we have to focus on the short-term goals. Baby steps, that’s all we can do.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

Finishing a unit is cause for celebration and we celebrated with a crossword puzzle. The puzzle has a list of words and the puzzle has two or more letters filled in for each word. Ayodele rocked the puzzle and it was great to see the look of accomplishment on her face.

Reflecting on our progress leaves me a little frustrated because I want so much for her to be reading and writing at a higher level. We go through a word list until she can easily read the words. Then we have a spelling test and there’s a huge disconnect between reading the words and writing the words. I know she’s frustrated too.

She asked me a question today and I used the Internet to find the answer. She watched me quietly and when I was finished, said, “I want to be able to use the Internet. I want to send you an email, Jennifer.” Me too, Ayodele. Me too.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

We talked about our week for a few minutes and I pulled out our agenda. Had she done her homework? Well, not all of it. She’d studied for the Citizenship exam, but hadn’t done her vocabulary words or sentence writing. That pretty much said it all; she’s very anxious to become a US citizen.

 After we went through the first half of our agenda, I surprised her with a set of flashcards and we started to work.

1.      What is the supreme law of the land? The Constitution

2.      What does the Constitution do? Sets up the government, defines the government, protects basic rights of Americans

3.      The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words? We the people

4.      What is an amendment? A change or addition to the Constitution

5.      What do we call the first ten amendments to the constitution? Bill of Rights 

The last question always reminds me of Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid. I’ve never forgotten the Schoolhouse Rock’s song about becoming a bill, and can still sing the first part of it. I found the video on YouTube and Ayodele loved it!

We’re concentrating on memorizing the answers to these first five flashcards and Ayodele struggled to read the questions. After we made it through the first round, I shuffled the cards and we started over. She haltingly read the first question, which was #3, and answered “The Constitution.” My suspicions were confirmed. Ayodele had memorized the answers in order, without understanding the meaning of either the question or answer. Hiding my frustration, we returned to the study book where the answers to each questions are explained. We talked about the importance of understanding both the question and the answer.

It’s going to be a long road, but we’ll get there and it will be worth all the hard work!

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.

Becoming a US Citizen requires taking a test. The purpose of the test is to “ensure the applicant has adequate knowledge of US history, government and principles to become a US citizen.” The exam has 100 questions and the applicant must answer 60% of them correctly. The applicant must also be able to read three sentences and write three sentences, chosen by the test administrator.

The study guide is interesting and provides a step-by-step process to taking the citizenship test. A quick peek at the questions showed me that I wouldn’t pass all 100 questions! These next twelve weeks are going to be a learning experience for both of us.

* Name changed to protect the student’s identity.