Update, and Pedagogy pt. I

I've started tutoring in earnest now. I have four students at current; it's note-worthy (though not really surprising) that all are at different places, and have different goals. One student wants help mostly learning computer literacy skills. Another, speaking and diction, and a third, help with skills to get a better job (he wants to be a security guard, with set hours, so he can spend more time with his family). Because I’m only here for a fairly short time I likely won’t see a complete accomplishment of these for any student, and that’s putting aside the fact that many of these goals are hard to measure in concrete terms. But, I hope to give the students I have the opportunity to work with a jump on the waiting list (which is pretty long at about fifty), and tools to continue pursuing knowledge on their own.

Additionally, I’ve begun working at my other site, CalSERVES. I’ve been doing lots of data-entry and record wrangling with tutors, the goal is to make a comprehensive volunteer information database. A cool skill I’ve learned is how to check most publicly available sex offender and felon database. I admit, it’s a specific talent, but a kind of cool one all the same. Interesting note, the building CalSERVES has office space in is an old Motorola office building. The offices themselves are quite normal, but the hallways are just weird, and mostly deserted as CalSERVES is the only leaser at current. The odd part is that it looks eerily like a stage from Perfect Dark, in it’s barren, half-used, industrial art sort of way. I’ll do a photo-comparison soon.

Another cool occurrence is that I was able to volunteer at the 40^th Annual San Francisco Pride celebration this weekend past. I worked to help park performers and speakers at mainstage in front of City Hall, and had a decent time. I met some very cool people, got yelled at by individuals without tags who I wouldn’t let see the Backstreet Boys (they played a three song set, and limo-ed away as fast as they could). But looking back on it, it was cool that I was able to contribute in a concrete way to happening of such an awesome (and what I consider essential) event.

I warn now that some filigreed, word-mincing bits of attempted pedagogical insight follow. I hope it’s at least somewhat readable. I tried typing out my views on education, but it came out a bit long, so I think I’ll separate it into a few parts. This first portion is on engaging a student’s critical thinking skills.

Because of the breadth of subjects the different students have interests in, different sorts of skills and focuses are the order of the day. But I do use somewhat similar methods with all, pedagogically speaking. I like to use Socratic techniques, of encouraging students to call upon their basis of knowledge by asking questions. Every person has a body of knowledge that they can call upon, and whether it’s based upon prior schooling, life experiences, or, that most noble of goals, self-education, it often contains some part of solving a problem at hand. If that is not the case, one can revise or amend that previously held knowledge by way of reflecting on why it was they were wrong.

Thus, a core pillar of my pedagogical philosophy is to ask learners to call upon their own, previously established knowledge. This is important with students of any age, but particularly adults, I think. A chance to use a student’s prior knowledge in solving a problem, and then reflecting on how that prior knowledge held up to the given circumstances, whether right or wrong, is part of learning actively. Being able to integrate learned knowledge into world-view promotes retention of this new-found knowledge. Another important element of this style of learning is that one can do it by oneself. Most of us practice it everyday, even if we don’t reflect on it actively.

The way I see it, it’s my job as a tutor to challenge the student to think critically, and learn on their own terms. To this end, I ask lots of questions, I question the students answers, and hopefully have them think about “how” and “why,” once we deal the “what” at hand. It doesn’t help very much that the English language tends to be mostly exceptions, and not so many rules. Of course, there are times when rote instruction is called for, particularly with my student who wants a better job: he is still working on connecting phonemes and graphemes, and the only way to really learn that is memorization and application.

I suppose I’ll continue this thread, of how I view instruction in the next post.

Inaugural Post

I arrived at SFO at about 12:15 in the morning of Sunday, June 13, 2010. I came with a bag full books, a bass that had lost its headstock sometime mid-transit, a beat up old L.L. Bean backpack with an “I -heart- Oberlin” pin, and ideas about doing service somewhere completely novel. (Novel to me, at least; nearly all my community service work in the past has been confined to Oberlin, Ohio, from whence I hail.) As of this writing, it’s been about a week since I left. Two of the books have been finished, the bass has been re-headstock-ed, the backpack (and pin) are pretty much the same as ever. The service, I’ve only just begun.

I suppose I should explain myself a little here. I’m working at two Sonoma County non-profits this summer, as part of my first Bonner Scholar Summer of Service. They are: CalSERVES (a Americorps tutoring organization that works in local schools), to help them make a tutor information database, and the Adult Literacy Program at the Sonoma County Public Library System, tutoring patrons in computer skills, grammar, and writing. In addition to just being able to help these organizations, I hope that both sites will give me some more insight into the work that I do tutoring in Oberlin’s City Schools during the academic year. Specifically, I’m curious to try to learn more pedagogical tools, and learn a bit more about what goes on above my (proverbial and literal) pay grade in a tutoring organization like America Reads.

A quick note of why I’m doing a Summer of service: Bonner Scholars is a service-based scholarship program, where funds are granted primarily to low income college students to defray education-related expenses. In return, those students agree to do, in addition to substantial service during the academic year, 280 hours of service each summer, for two summers. One of the great things about this service is that Bonners receive a $1000 living stipend at the beginning of the summer, and are allowed to do their service anywhere in the world, with any non-profit agency. I chose to get out of Oberlin for my first, so I could have an opportunity to get some perspective on service (and living) in a place fairly different than my mostly liberal Midwest college hometown.

I have to thank the generosity and warmth of my hosts out here, in the town of Sebastopol, Emily Robinson (another Oberlin student, working with the San Francisco Health Dept.’s STD Prevention program this summer), and her mother, Kate Schaffner. I’m extremely lucky to have such gracious hosts; I feel totally welcomed and comfortable in what will be my home for the next two months or so. As far as living conditions go, Emily and I are staying in a renovated trailer on her mother’s property, next to a horse pen. It’s a little chilly at night sometimes (it goes from about 80 Fahrenheit during the day to about 50 at night outside), but is as good a home away from home as anywhere I’ve seen. Emily commutes into the bay every week to work, and stays with her dad; I stay here and go to my service sites.

Coolest moment thus far: On the plane ride from Atlanta to SFO, the flight had to run about 100 miles south of a thunderstorm. I was lucky enough to be awake and have a window seat for this, and I saw probably the greatest light show I could imagine. Greater, even. It went on for an hour or more, with titanic ("jovian" is probably more apt, though) explosions of fantastical proportions. It reminded me of Star Wars, and the fragility of all of the passengers in the rocketing metal tube, and of Wagner, and of a billion other things besides.

A note about the nature of this forum, I’m planning for this blog to be discursive. The reason I’m here is the service I’m doing, but I’ll probably lapse into a digression or two every now and again. I’m planning on updating about twice a week. As I understand it, if you hit the “follow” button, you can be alerted of when this is updated, if that is convenient for you. Lastly, if anyone has anything that they’d like to ask, or like to see answered, feel free to post it on here, at the bottom, or email me at kgilfeth@oberlin.edu. Please enjoy, and I hope you like reading.