“As one who used to be a struggling English Second Language student, I really wished that I had been given the support that we offer here at Learning Buddies Network. My struggle with the language barrier had been a lonely one, and through sharing my past experiences, I was able to quickly establish a bond with my first reading buddy, Harshdeep. I was able to prove to him that he too can overcome the struggle that he currently faces and can excel at whatever he sets his mind to. After realizing that he had the power to change his current situation, he improved by leaps and bounds. Through mentoring, I have come to learn that it is crucial to foster an environment that students can develop a love of learning in early on.”

In elementary school, my parents couldn't afford the time to teach me math. Many children grow up in environments where receiving academic help is difficult. Through Learning Buddies Network, I have had the opportunity to give struggling students academic help they otherwise would not receive.

My little buddy Dave and I would often talk about what had happened in the past week in the NHL. When I first met Dave, he was a grade 4 student who struggled in basic subtraction. Through his interest in hockey, I was able to encourage him to practice and improve his math. Dave started out calculating how much the Canucks lost by the night before. And within ten weeks, he could calculate with ease the average number of shots per game that Daniel Sedin had attempted!”

“I joined Reading Buddies because I had never tutored before and wished to start gaining experience teaching children in an academic setting. What surprised me most about my first buddy, Arial, was her age. Arial already finished grade 3 and was entering grade 4, yet her reading level was stunningly low, and lagging far behind her classmates. Arial faced a reality in class where other children were beginning to increase their reading speed rapidly, while help was becoming less and less accessible for the class stragglers. I quickly realized how vital my continual and unconditional support for my buddy was. By having me there to motivate her, work on the skills that needed help, and give her attention, Arial was accessing the provision that would have been unreachable otherwise.

I believe all she needed was one-to-one attention rather than more intensive techniques. What I enjoyed while working with her is when she got into the learning, she actually forgot about asking "how many minutes are left?" or "can we draw now?" Getting her involved and energetic about what we were doing by setting small goals for ourselves really made the lessons more interesting for both of us. For example, she really loved "fire cats," which are cats that can "breathe fire". We would draw these cats almost everywhere as reminders, goal setters and in between tasks. It really helped her get involved. I also enjoyed it when, after a few sessions, I asked her questions about books that I assigned to her to read at home, and she answered them correctly, rather than just guessing, showing she was engaged in the learning. Over time, she made great strides in her reading and both of us were really proud of her own efforts.

Arial's mom would pick her up after the sessions and she seemed very pleased and grateful. Aside from smiling and being thankful after every session, the mom took it seriously when I asked her to make sure that my buddy did her homework. It showed that she wanted her child to benefit as much as possible from the extra help she was being given.

In light of the significant developments that we have observed in dozens of schoolchildren, we have discovered that it is often just a little extra attention that these children need in order to help themselves-- attention for just that single child. Every individual has a unique learning curve and way of learning. Today’s classrooms cannot cater to and provide the adequate attention that every child needs. Kids who digest the material at a different rate may fall through the cracks, and the gap between their academic level and that of their peers may only widen. We at Learning Buddies Network aim to provide this one-on-one attention and mentorship, and reverse the downward trajectory.

Arial is just another schoolchild who has tremendously benefited from the program. Undoubtedly, making mentoring available to such children before they leave behind the early elementary grades, could even further facilitate achieving the goals of improved self-esteem and motivation.”