For a year and a half and the past two summers, I’ve been working at Kumon Learning Center, one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve ever had. The program helps students learn math and reading from Levels A to O (I think). Each letter represents a higher level. Many students complete the entire program. When I first started, this Kumon was pretty young, only about two years old, so it hadn’t had time to gain many students. Over the years, though, it has grown so much! Once upon a time, there were three of us working there, and there was so little work that we could sit around and read (a fact that I took full advantage of, of course). Now, there are seven of us and my boss’s husband is expanding the building because we’re running out of space (it’s a small building).

My job is to grade worksheets that the students do daily and to help them when they need it. I used to just mostly help reading students, but since I’m only back for the summer, I go where I’m needed. Unfortunately, I’ve been needed at the math tables most of the summer. As a very devoted English major, math is not my best subject. In fact, I’ve been rejoicing that I took my last math class ever second semester of freshman year. Fortunately, most of the students are doing pretty easy math: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and reducing fractions. However, it is there that my expertise ends. When the students start adding/subtracting fractions, I generally have to pass them along to someone else to help them. A few of the students have advanced to algebra, which I can usually help with. One student has advanced so far, though, that he’s at a level I never sufficiently learned. Have I mentioned that he’s going into 6th grade? He’s doing math that I didn’t start learning until 9th grade! It’s hard to believe that such a young kid has reached a level that a college student can’t help him with. 

Despite my difficulty with some parts of the job, it has been amazing. It has reinforced my lifelong ambition to teach (I’m limiting myself to English, though!). I know it will be great for my resume that I already have teaching experience, but it also taught me so much. It helps me with patience, impartiality, and coming up with innovative ways to teach a student a difficult concept. The benefits I’ve recieved from this job are innumerable. My advice to college students, or even high school students: find a job that will provide you with valuable skills in the career you plan to follow. Not only will you already have the skills necessary for the job, but it will also assist you in acquiring the job by improving your resume. I know mine has!

As Ashlea pointed out to me, I haven’t blogged in a while. That’s because I have nothing to blog about! That comes as a result of my somewhat empty life right now. My days consist of sitting around on my bed, watching movies on my laptop and the occasional meeting with the stove. I thought that was the ideal summer for the college student….I was wrong.

Something interesting happened today, however. My sister left for college. Mom is driving her down to Louisiana, and my little brother went with them. My grandparents are away for the week in Mexico for my cousin’s wedding. That leaves me. With an empty house. I think I’m in heaven. And no, not because I’m going to have amazing parties that get the cops called on me (you have to know people to have parties), but because I’m alone. There’s just something about being alone that motivates me to do something. Remember spring break? On the bright side, I have my dogs to talk to this time!

So what’s my plan for my week of freedom? Not too clear on that one. I will, however, be cleaning (again). Lots and lots of cleaning. Now that my sister has vacated what used to be our room but turned into her room and is now my room again (for another 2 weeks), I can finally clean up her mess. I would have done it earlier, but like I said, being alone motivates me. My only responsibilities this week include going to my job (fortunately, I still have the tutoring gig) and taking care of my dogs (I REALLY hope I don’t forget to feed them!). Hopefully, the week (and the rest of the summer) will be interesting enough (in a boring sort of way) for me to have something to blog about