Math Tutoring
By Mary Rose Campbell
I was so angry with Ms. Stone. I had tutored math students for several years. It seemed that I got more students from Ms. Stone’s math classes than from any other teacher. It seemed that she not only did not teach well, but also did not seem to understand math at all. But that was not the worse part. Her attitude was one of “know-it-all” to her students. And when a student whom I had tutored had done well on the next test, it was her pattern to accuse them in front of the class of cheating. This particular fall, I was tutoring Diane in Advanced Algebra and Trig.
Although our religious backgrounds were different, Diane and I shared a similar spirituality. Our tutoring sessions were sprinkled with sharing how God had worked in our lives. I asked her if other students would be receptive to tutoring if they did not have to pay. The school drew kids from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds, so I decided to offer to the students in Ms. Stone’s class tutoring at no cost. I made up flyers for Diane to pass out at school that we would meet for a few hours at the public library the day before their final exam.
Three days before the final, we had a large snowstorm, unusual for the south. We have this incredible snow removing technique here — it is called the sun. School was called off for all three days, so Diane could not pass out flyers to anyone. Not to be discouraged, I went to the library anyway. I had forgotten to bring a magic marker, and only had a pencil. I did make a sign on notebook paper, but the library staff would not let me put it so folks coming into the library would easily see it — it was over to one side. I figured that my idea had been a wash.
Diane showed up with her good friend Keshia. Diane had talked about Keshia before. She lived in a drug and crime infested area of town. Keshia’s mom had had hip replacement the month before, and her father was a drug addict. Keshia had been in the band and several clubs at the high school and was looking forward to graduation. Keshia was not in Advanced Algebra and Trig. She was in the Analysis class, the next higher level of mathematics. Ms. Stone was not her teacher, either. I did know her teacher, and he was hard, but knew his material and he was fair with students. It became very clear that my reason for being there was not revenge on Ms…
