Dr. Arrastía-Chisholm: Professor Mom

In case you have been following what my EDUC 2130 students have been doing at the Southside Library , here is another update . Last week was the last time the preservice teachers met with the K-12 students at the Southside Library. On the very last day, families and volunteers celebrated with food donated from a local Chick-fil-a and custom certificates for each participants. Over 100 kiddos were tutored in the 20 sessions at this semester with over 80 tutors volunteering as part of their field experience. Now I am reading all of the VSU students' reflections about their experiences. Every single student has admitted to having a positive experience. They noticed things about their own learning and the learning of the kiddos they helped. They noticed social processes and peer relationships forming. They also noticed the impact of socioeconomic status, food scarcity, and relative poverty in the Valdosta community. I think it is really telling that every student, faculty, staff, ...

This week a new group of VSU students participated in the Helping with Homework program at the Southside Library in Valdosta. The 16 kiddos that attended yesterday ranged from grades Kindergarten to 10th grade. To protect the identities of the minors involved, I have blurred their faces, but here are a few pictures of their hard work. I look forward to guiding a new batch of VSU students tonight.  Even though it was their first time meeting, all the groups clicked and I could hear laughter and chatter by the end of the evening. All the students finished their studies and homework, had a snack, and some even got to play legos or a game or two of Uno to reward themselves. My students got some experience tutoring reading, math, social studies, science, and English language arts. From what I have heard, the first group that just finished their field experience really enjoyed the hands-on experience. Some can easily see the concepts we discuss in educational psychology in...