Miller Mentoring Math Program
Last Spring 2009 and this Fall 2009 I helped volunteer for the Miller Mentoring Program at the Winona Middle School in Winona, MN. The program is an after-school resource where students are paired one-on-one with a mentor to help with academic work. It is designed to form relationships and for the volunteers to be advocates for the students in becoming comfortable in talking with their teachers, using resources to do their work, and be a trusted adult who can help them however necessary.
In the program, I was a math tutor in the Math Room. This subpart of the Miller Mentoring Program was an open invitation for students to come after school to receive help with their math work; the students open to come were grades 6 through 8. In the Math Room I was a mentor for any students who came on that particular day. We would work through problem areas, talk to their teachers if needed, and discuss the work they had. It was a great environment where students were not intimidated to ask questions, and take the learning process at the pace best fit for them.
My work in the Miller Mentoring Math Room is an artifact that demonstrates Standard 10 of the Standards of Effective Practice for Teachers. This standard outlines that, “a teacher must be able to communicate and interact with parents or guardians, families, school colleagues, and the community to support student learning and well-being” (Revisor, 2008). The Miller Program was a great community outreach resource where community members volunteered their time in order to help their students succeed. We used the support of our colleagues and the teachers at the middle school to help each student succeed. With collaboration and understanding, students realized their we cared about their success and were motivated to achieve at their greatest levels. As a mentor I interacted with the teachers at Winona Middle School to support the students that came for help, and we worked together to help the students succeed.
Substandard 10B. stresses the importance of identifying and understanding outside factors that can affect a student’s academic achievement. Before beginning the Miller Mentoring Program, we had a training session that prepared us for the various home and social aspects the students were dealing with. Different, anonymous situations were presented, and ways to handle these various scenarios were presented. It was a great, open environment where discussion took place between community resources, fellow colleagues, and the organization leaders.