I overheard a freshman girl telling her friends about how upset she was that she was failing math. She was afraid of telling her parents because she knew that she would get grounded. All of her friends began to wonder whether or not she had an 8th hour. When she told her friends that she would have an 8th hour, they bombarded her with questions like “Won’t your parents be mad?” and “ Is your coach going to kick you off the team?”
After seeing how upset she was, I made my final decision to volunteer in different 8th hour classrooms for National Honor Society at my high school, to help students better their grades. I figured that for 45 minutes after school, I could give up my free time that I spent with my friends to help make a difference.
One of the first things that I learned going into the different classrooms is that you can only help those who want to be helped. There was a variety of kids in every 8th hour classroom. You had the talkative students, the class clowns, and the sports players. You even had the shy students who were very bright that were just afraid to ask for help when they did not understand something.
Seeing the number of students who were failing really gave me the momentum to want to help each and every student better understand math. Although there was one of me, and at least twenty students in every class, plus the teacher, and other tutors I did my best to help out anyone who sat their patiently with their hand up like a child waiting for their turn on a swing.
8th hour was created when the number of freshman failing first year algebra was at an all time high. Administrators and teachers figured that taking away a students free time would strive them to do a lot better in school, which in my opinion I think is true. Very quickly there was a change in some students grades but some students were just not taking the help they were being offered. A short time later changes were made to 8th hour and it was only being offered to students who still had a chance at passing.
Although I only did this for about two months until they no longer needed tutors, it gave me a sense of accomplishment, knowing that there were some students who I helped guide back on to the highway of success.
Many people feel that they must do something outstanding to make an impact on someone’s life, but little do they know that something as small as showing someone how to do just one math problem can make a difference.