Tutoring
Today is my last day tutoring the cohort I was assigned in February. I've decided against sharing any potentially sensitive details about the student's, not because they will face any scrutiny as a result of being named in this throwaway blog post. I want to write about them here, to gather my thoughts about the time I've spent with them before I bid them farewell.
The purpose of our meetings were to improve their mathematic skills, so naturally we spent most of our time talking about math. Math is not exactly beloved by children. My students were not outliers. I can't find fault in their opinions; math is rather abstract and dull, especially given the way it is taught in the States. I myself am no excellent mathematician. My advantage over my students is purely structural; I happen to be older than them. I knew this before I began. I like to think this truth allowed me to be a more compassionate and effective instructor.
I was hoping to avoid profuse cliche's about how the students I taught ended up teaching me, more than I taught them. I feel now that I will be altogether unsuccessful. My students truly have shaped how I view the process of learning. I've been spending my downtime absorbing lectures on cognitive science, the philosophy of the mind. I am fundamentally a different person than I was 4 months ago. Of course I am, the change is inevitable. Regardless of how I choose to spend my time, I will be shaped by my experiences. I am incredibly grateful to my students and the time I spent with them.