Math Buddies

Today as I walked in the classroom, all the kids were busy with their math worksheets. I was asked by Mrs. Teacher to use flashcards with the kids, but this time it wasn't for spelling words. They were math facts of addition and subtraction. As she sent me each student, I would tally up how many facts they got right, and the facts they needed to improve on.

It was actually very fun being in the position of saying whether their answers were correct or not! I'm used to the opposite! Before coming to the school to volunteer, I was in my last class (math) doing everything algebra for an hour straight.Although my mind was worn out due to a days worth of cramming information, in my mind I was pleased to be given these simple facts!

All the students I practiced with seemed to get 0+0 write and 2+2... subtraction was another thing, though. Two of the boys I worked with were so fast, they said the answer before I even picked up the card. I was trying to tell them to slow down because sometimes they would misread the sign. One boy got all 49 cards correct. I asked if he liked math and sure enough he exclaimed that it was his favorite subject. Interesting how those who were the best at math loved that subject the most. If I were that kid years ago, I would have probably replied that I hated it so much and would count on my fingers the whole time!

After practicing with the students, I found myself giving them advice. Advice that I never wanted to listen to from my teachers or even my mother back then like, "Practice at home! It will make a difference!" and "You will use these later on so you'll want to be quick with the facts!". I never even realized it until it popped out of my mouth!

A few of the girls in the class drew me some pictures. One was a decorated Christmas tree and another was a heart that was colored and had my name on it. Ok, so I knew that when my NJHS advisor told me that teh kids would appreciate my help it would be true. But I never had an idea how much they actually would appreciate it!

Coming to help out at the elementary school has been so much fun and its become such a daily routine that it forgets it even counts as service hours. Maybe volunteering doesn't have to be such a difficult task after all. It doesn't have to be time consuming either. Just 30 minutes of your life can impact another's.

- WRITTEN 1/4/2012