More than 40 years ago, Central Presbyterian
Church began a program called “The Elizabethport Tutorial Program.” From early
October until the end of March, each year we have met on Tuesday nights in the
church auditorium, for an hour.
Who is there? We bring 30 to 40 grade-schoolers by bus from
Elizabethport (a section of the City of Elizabeth, N.J.), and they meet with 50
or 60 tutors from high schools local to Summit. Public high schools in Summit,
Chatham, Springfield and New Providence are represented, but also local private
schools like Oak Knoll, Kent Place, Morristown-Baird and Pingry.
Because the building of personal relationships
between tutor and student is so important to us, each student is assigned a
permanent tutor ---- the same tutor week after week. Many students have two
regular tutors, so that if one tutor is involved in sports or other activities,
there always is continuity.
What do we do in our hour
together? Sometimes the students
bring a homework assignment from their school, which the tutor and student work
through together. As the tutor gets to know his or her student, they will see
individual areas of academic weakness. One student does not like to read
because he doesn’t do it very well. Another student has trouble with math, so
some number exercises are offered. Importantly, this teaching and practice
occurs through great amounts of talking. If the student has read a story to the
tutor, for example, the tutor will ask the student now to tell the story again
in his or her own words. Sometimes, the student or the tutor simply talk about
things they have been doing in their daily lives.
Why do the students come to Tutorial each
week, when they could instead be
home watching TV or doing other things? Each child would answer this question a
little differently, but for most of them, like most kids, they are happy to be
out with their friends on sort of an adventure. As they begin to bond with
their particular tutor, that is a draw. A few parents may push their
students to go to Tutorial, but most tell us they simply hear the kids saying
they do not want to miss the Tuesday night Tutorial session. It may be an
exaggeration, but we have been told that some parents have used Tutorial as a
“stick,” saying to their child:
“If you do not behave, I will not let you go to
Tutorial on Tuesday evening!”
How is it that we are blessed with so
many dedicated tutors? Each tutor
undoubtedly will have his or her own particular reasons, but somewhere on their
list is “the personal relationship I have with my student.” They are there
every Tuesday because they don’t want to disappoint their student. This is not
necessarily what one expects from the typically busy high-schooler. But, over
time the student-tutor relationship grows deeper, as they each learn more about
each other, and fondness blossoms. We have heard of high-school-age tutors who
have satisfied any Community Service requirements their school may have imposed,
but the tutor wants to come back for a second or even a third year of tutoring.
Some tutors have even described the rewards of their experience as one of our
tutors, on their college applications. Some Summit-area parents have encouraged
all their kids to serve as tutors ---- we have often had brothers and
sisters serving at the same time, or in successive years.
What’s the “bottom
line?” Why has this program lasted
for more than 40 years?
When asked, any of the adult program
supervisors are sure they have seen some special kinds of personal student/tutor
growth occurring, over time. They see the students and tutors learning things
about themselves, through the personal relationships fostered by the
Tutorial program. For the tutors, it brings home to them how fortunate they are
for what they have, and to be sure to use it wisely. For the students, they
will see opportunities for their own lives, by just listening to their
tutors’ own stories, and hearing of the importance of life focus and hard work
on their studies.
The Elizabethport Tutorial Program truly brings
different world’s together: High school youth and grade-schoolers; suburban
kids and youth from one of New Jersey’s largest urban centers. We believe that
all of us are benefiting.
___________________________________________________________________
These thoughts are brought to you by CPC's Adult
Spiritual Development Team, hoping to encourage you to pursue some personal spiritual
growth this winter at CPC.
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