Why I Volunteer - Jodies Story

Why I Volunteer - Jodie's Story Jodie is one of our new recruits through our partner TeachFirst. As she studied History at university, Jodie will start her teacher training next year in hopes to become a History teacher. She will be teaching high school students, but chose to take part in Tutorfair’s “Stretch Academy” volunteer programme teaching at primary level, as a way of easing her way into the education system. Jodie has so far given 12 hours of her time to Wilbury Primary School students, teaching a small group in year 5, helping them with their numeracy and literacy - focusing on verbal and nonverbal reasoning. How has your experience been so far? It's been such a good experience so far, as I truly feel that I am making a difference to these children's lives. How did you find working with the students? I've really enjoyed working with children in such small groups as it's allowed me to really get to know them all individually. It also means that when a child is struggling, I can go through the topic as slowly as he/she needs and therefore no child is left behind.  All of the children are highly motivated and are so keen to learn, which makes it so enjoyable to teach them. What will you gain from the experience? Teaching such young children has made me aware that educational difficulties begin from the start of children's education and how important it is to tackle these problems from an early age. This will ensure that no child is left behind and that children from all backgrounds have the same start to life. It has also given me confidence and drive for when I start Teach First later this year. Tutorfair and Stretch Academy Over 50 kids piled into the gymnasium at Wilbury Primary School to receive free tutoring run by the Stretch Academy with Tutorfair volunteer tutors. Stretch Academy founder,  Alex Lee  takes us behind the scenes of this truly inspirational programme. If you're a tutor, teacher or an aspiring educator looking to make a difference, please come find out more Find out more about Tutorfair's work with the Stretch Academy