Are girls and boys really that different?

At Charles Drew Elementary School, 65% of the students are 2 or more grades below the level expected for their age group for reading and maths. Some cannot read at all. Last Tuesday I started tutoring at Drew.

Last Monday was a hard day. I was frightened, nervous, unprepared, kept thinking about the film “Dangerous Minds” and drank way too much tea. A couple of weeks ago, I had found a tutoring program on Penn’s website called America Reads, America Counts. It’s a national program that recruits uni. students to go into inner city schools and help the kids with their reading and maths. Even though I’m not a student, Penn was happy for me to join the program but not be paid. Typical. I would go to Drew on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the Christmas break and work with the grade 6 – 8 (12 –14 year olds) special education teacher, Ms. DePaul. I kept asking if I needed to attend training sessions and kept being told no, instead I was handed a 4-page guide to tutoring and a pass to get into the school. I was now a tutor.

On Tuesday I got to the school way to early and circled it a few times, probably looking pretty dodgy. All inner-city American schools seem to have the same grim look. Four or five stories with many barred windows, a cement playground and enclosed by fencing. They have such a grey look about them I was honestly surprised that it wasn’t monochromatic inside.

Instead, it was colourful, lively and welcoming. I signed in and made my way to Ms. DePaul’s room. We had a really short conversation about what I was going to do and I was thrown into it. That day was test day at Drew and I was to work with two kids who needed extra help with reading and understanding the questions. In the morning I worked with an 8th grade girl called Sabrina. She had just transferred into the school and was described by all the teachers as “reserved and slow”. We sat together for an hour and a half and I left completely disagreeing with the teacher’s description of her. She was inquisitive and opened up to me immediately. She thrived on the attention, asking if I was going to be with her every day. It was a good first experience.

In the afternoon, I did the same thing with a 12-year-old boy called Dennis. I was warned that Dennis was the quintessential gossip and could easily go off task. It was delightful spending an hour with him; he was funny and charming but struggled immensely with reading. Instead of sounding out the word, he would look at the letters and choose a word from his memory that sort of matched. He quickly grew tired of the test and, to be honest, so did I.

I left Drew extremely proud of what I had done but also very angry about my preconceptions. It wasn’t at all scary or violent. The kids were kids, charming, inquisitive and searching for attention. TV has a lot to answer for.

On Thursday I returned to Drew unsure whether I’d had it easy the first time. The kids were studying the play “The Monkey’s Paw’ and I took a small group of girls in the morning and boys in the afternoon. The experiences couldn’t have been more different. The girls were a nightmare, constantly going off task, answering back and generally messing around. The boys were a dream, enjoying the task and asking some great questions. I was fascinated at how different they actually were and can’t wait to get back there and try to figure out what’s going on. I’m determined to get on the good side of the girls.


I am thrilled with my introduction to tutoring but still feel nervous. We’ll see how this week goes.

Love xxxxxxxxx

Listening to: Heard it through the grapevine - Marvin Gaye

Wondering if: I can turn the heating up even further without us going bankrupt.

ELVIS LIVES

If you have ever doubted it, here’s the evidence. And yes, I got to smell his sweat.

http://home.comcast.net/~mrl3/
(click on the Elvis link – it may take forever but you will not regret the wait)

He has had a lot of work done and it’s safe to say he no longer has his own hair but Elvis is still alive and crooning. As you can see everyone was is disbelief, having to turn away from this God of our times. They didn’t seem to want to go near the vision, but I was the chosen one. He touched me and my outfit miraculously turned into a wondorous wedding dress. He sang to be so beautifully in my face that I seriously began to consider if I had married the right man.

Ladies, how can you say no.

And please everyone - forgive him his costume. I mean his family have gone and sold all of his fabulous suits to the plebs on ebay. He had to improvise and I believe he did an excellent job. The tin foil on red terry towelling was stunning and set off beautifully with his use of orthopaedic clogs. I wouldn't be surprised if we see identical outfits on the runway for the Summer '06 season. Watch this space.

He is a God. Long live the king.