Mahalia

=**Mahalia Baturin** =

I'm 15, I go to Gleneagle & I love acting, dancing, and music! Also, I want to become either a psychologist or a personal stylist. My family and friends are very important to me & I'm obsessed with one direction <3

__Journal Entry Number 1__ So, I was already assigned to the learning centre last week, but now I'm officially assigned there, and it's going pretty well I think! This week, I helped people with planning, social studies and science, but mostly science. I've actually been assigned to sit beside two girls every class now which is nice because before I was unsure who I should go help. One of them has been pretty independant from the beginning and is continuing to do well. The other one needs a lot more help, but she's totally getting better. Once she gets focused, or has a goal she sticks to it and can definitely succeed when she really tries. Also, I've found that tutoring is really rewarding. I always feel really happy for the person I helped and makes me want to help more. All in all, it's been a good week!

__Journal Entry Number 2__ This week was pretty good! I was gone for two days due to a head injury but I am feeling better. I helped the same two girls with science, and occasionally one other person asks me questions about science as well now. I think to improve being a peer tutor I need to learn how to communicate better. I've always been able to get my point across but sometimes I find it hard to explain things and feel bad for taking so long to think about it before explaining it to the person. I think that will just come with experience though. I could probably learn to use my resources more too. I took science last semester so I'm sure if I found my old notes it would help me help others. Also, I tend to think of myself as a pretty compassionate person, but I believe that there is always room to improve! I just need to focus on putting myself in other peoples shoes so I can truly know how to help them.

__Journal Entry Number 3__ Since the two girls I tutor everyday are the same age as me,we are all interested in the same type of things, and I would say that we've become friends. Which I think makes it easier for them to ask me questions. Also, I tried to help one girl with chemical equations, but I couldn't remember how to do them, so I read the textbook and tried to reteach it to myself so I could then teach her, but the textbook was not helpful with this part of science. In the end, I asked another tutor to help her,and it all worked out. There's been a few times where I've seen improvement. Especially for one girl, at the beginning she could not figure out one question by herself, and now I've seen her complete a whole worksheet by herself! It really made me happy to see that she was truly understanding what she was doing.

__Journal Entry Number 4__ Peer tutoring is totally meaningful to me. I love helping others, and it is so different to be in a teacher-like positition, but it's fun, and I find it so rewarding! I love that moment when someone finally understands what they were working on. It's different from my other classes, because usually I'm the one asking questions, not answering them. It's really a cool experience.

__Journal Entry Number 5__ Today I totally had a moment of confidence, but it didn't start out that way. This grade 9 girl came into the learning centre today and she was having trouble with math. My teacher assigned me to her and at first I was super terrified because I'm not the best at math but I looked at the question a few times and it totally all came back to my memory! After that, I was more confident and less worried and I was able to teach her much better. I can use this experience to help me gain overall confidence I suppose. My strengths have to do with being creative. Like when someone is doing a project I think I'm pretty helpful because I have so many ideas to give them!

__Journal Entry Number 6__ I love where I've been placed for peer tutoring! The learning centre is a really cool place to tutor because you teach multiple subjects. The people I tutor and the teachers are wonderful as well! The past two weeks i've been helping with science mostly, and me and 2 girls did several projects and have also been organizing their binders everyday. I also helped them both write resume's for planning, and I've helped them study for some tests. I usually get them to make flash cards and go over their notes. Also a note of improvement- one of the girls is totally getting good at handing things in on time! She's definitely gotten rid of her procrastination habit and I actually feel really proud of her!

__Journal Entry Number 7__ In the last two weeks I've had many meaningful conversations with several students! I feel like I've gotten very close with a few of them and I am very grateful to have this experience as a peer tutor. Everytime I am able to help someone in any way I feel happy and proud of them and myself. I feel proud of them for working so hard and accomplishing what they did especially if they previously had a hard time with that subject. I feel proud of myself for being able to get my thoughts across to them and making them happy. I feel like this experience has allowed me to not only be a tutor, but a friend as well.

__Journal Entry Number 8__ I totally find that I rely on my own experiences and beliefs and goals to help other students. I believe in working as hard as you can and just trying your best and I always try to encourage other students to be determined. I always encourage them to be positive and be proud of what they've done. I believe that being positive is key to success in anything in life including schoolwork. I also try to help them find their own way to study that works for them because it is so important to have good studying skills and I know from experience that there are many ways to study but only a few really work for me.

__Journal Entry Number 9__ These past two weeks I think I've done a few things pretty well. I've been helping some students get ready for provincials especially for the science one. I also helped one girl finish several projects and now she's all caught up in her class. One thing I wish I could improve on is inspiring the other students. They want to pass their courses obviously but I wish I could get them to aim for even higher because they are all so capable! I cannot wait to continue helping them and watch them improve and tackle new obstacles. __ Journal Entry Number 10 __ My semester in peer tutoring has been truly amazing! I am so happy I got the chance to take this course and experience what I did. I feel like I have become a better person and I am proud of all the students I have worked with. My favorite moments were creating friendships and building enough trust with students to really help them as much as possible. I feel like if you are on an equal level with the people your tutoring they will want to listen more. It was very challenging to draw a line though. I couldn't always be their friends obviously which sucked but it just had to be done sometimes. I feel accomplished of everything I have done and I feel very,very proud of the students I tutored. One of my favorite times was when I helped two girls create their resumes. I felt proud to help them with things outside of school like getting a job and provide guidance and advice. I feel proud to have been a part of that classroom and I can't explain how grateful I am to everyone who made this such a great experience.