It’s a foggy afternoon here in “sunny” Santa Maria. My floor
is covered in coupon clippings yet to be filed, and my dining room table is
buried under three feet of lesson plans and myriad curriculum materials. The
bathrooms are dirty, the kitchen is a mess, the receipts aren’t reconciled, and
I have no idea what’s for dinner. Seems like an excellent time to write a blog
post!
Things have been pretty hectic in the Ferderer home for the
past several months. In early March, I threw a baby shower for my good friend
Elisa. On the day of the shower, our friend Trina ran into some housing
problems and had to crash with us for a week. The day after she left my sister,
Michelle, came out for a long visit. We had an absolute blast with her, but
after all of that we were looking forward to a slower pace. It was not to be.
On the last day Michelle was here, I got a call with a job offer from a
tutoring company. I am now employed by Xamaze Tutoring, a company that offers
remedial tutoring to low scoring students in Title I schools. Because they took
me on late in the semester I had to double up my hours to finish all my
students’ programs before their deadlines. I was given eight high school
students who all needed to complete 14 hours in 30 days. Add to that my private
pre-calculus student, and now you understand why I haven’t been calling…
I have enjoyed the tutoring experience, though it has left me
despairing about the state of education in the U.S. I have three 10th
graders who do not know what nouns, verbs, or adjectives are. I have an Algebra
student who does not know multiplication facts, and a geometry student who can’t
do a lick of Algebra! According to my employers, I am supposed to affect a 25%
increase on these students’ standardized test scores. Good luck to me…
I will be glad when this tutoring job is over. Paul and I
have realized we don’t have much time left in Santa Maria, and there is still
so much to see and do! Starting next weekend, we will be packing in the fun
times and adventures- all the things we want to do before we leave. I’ll try to
keep you posted.
