Tutoring Towards a Future
Photos and Writing by Jacqueline Quiroz
Cameron Martinez has a future planned for himself and is working towards it in an inspiring way. At the age of 25, Cameron has decided to return back to school this fall to become a high school teacher. He has always had a passion for helping others, especially young adults. However, he never made the effort to attend a university.
Before starting his college career, he decided to volunteer some of his time tutoring a couple of kids he knows through family friends. He was informed that this kids were struggling in certain subjects and could use the extra help.
As I joined in on some of the sessions, I got some insight into the tutoring process and the level of professionalism Cameron incorporates into it. Cameron proves that it’s never too late to chase after dreams and create a brighter future for yourself and for others while doing it.
Cameron drives to the student's house for every tutoring session. He prefers the home environment so the student can feel comfortable and so parents can be involved in the session if they'd like.
For this particular session, we arrived a little early. Cameron took the extra time to review notes from the last session to check on progress during this session.
Cameron goes over current course grades with Misael, a middle school student, and Misael’s mom. This is done before every tutoring session to set goals towards grade improvements.
In today's middle school classrooms, textbooks are a thing of the past. Cameron learned that everything in the classroom is now done on students' laptops. Therefore, tutor sessions consist of snacks and laptops (and occasionally a pen and paper).
Misael’s mom watches Cameron and Misael work on this week’s math assignments at the dinning table. She expressed her gratitutde to me. “I am so thankful for Cameron. I’ve seen so much improvement in Misael’s grades!”
Joshua shows Cameron a photograph recently taken of an elementary class he serves as a student aid for. He informed us that he also wants to be a teacher after he graduates.
Cameron looks over assignments and teacher's feedback with Joshua to answer any questions he may still have and to discover any areas Joshua is struggling with.
Joshua shows Cameron a photograph recently taken of an elementary class he serves as a student aid for. He informed us that he also wants to be a teacher after he graduates.
Cameron feels like this isn't only benefiting him, but it really benefits the students and their academic success. "I don't spend a lot of time with them, but I do notice the time I do spend with them makes a difference. I can see it in their grades. I can see it in their excitement for a subject they once hated. It pays off."
Cameron (right) goes over quiz results with high school senior, Joshua (left) and is pleasantly surprised with the grade received.