Learning from the Learner

 

This past Monday I had my very first tutoring session with an ELL student, who I will be working with throughout the course of this semester. For the purpose of confidentiality I will call him W. In just one hour with W I was amazed by how much knowledge I was able to acquire. While getting to know each other, we got on the topic of hobbies when W mentioned to me that his favorite sport is soccer. W explained to me that he has always loved playing, but hasn’t had much time for it since he moved to the United States. This is due to the fact that he’s trying to focus all of his attention on school and learning the English Language. As not only an athlete, but a soccer player myself, I was in awe by this statement. I can’t imagine having to push soccer aside for anything, but W it seemed to have been a no-brainer. He showed true determination and an honest sense of maturity. He wanted to learn, and I don’t mean just do well in school, but rather truly get the best education possible while learning more about the American way and culture. In just one tutoring session, I was quickly able to see that although I may be in the “tutor” role by title, I will be learning just as much if not more from W throughout this semester than he will from me.