Heart Tutoring’s Kelsey Ripley is a Guest Writer for the Community Resilience Project’s December 2020 Newsletter

Sometimes a device isn’t working well, and our staff help guide students through a series of technology checks to see if we can improve the connection. Sometimes the students don’t have their math materials with them that day, and tutors improvise by asking if they can find a few pieces of cereal or dried pasta to help them count. We do “brain breaks” that involve everything from jumping jacks to dance moves. (Last week, a student challenged her tutor to do a handstand, and he did it!) We ask students at the end of each session to reflect on their learning and share with us something they are proud of or enjoyed. Recently, a 3rd grader told us, “I feel confident that I can do hard problems.”

We’ve been tutoring virtually for about six months, and in that time, we’ve tackled some hard problems. We’ve also had the opportunity to get to know students and glimpse into their lives in entirely new ways. Students share their thinking about math in all kinds of spaces: their desk at home, the backseat of the car, while making lunch, or sitting in a daycare classroom. We’ve met siblings, pets, and favorite stuffed animals. We’ve spoken with parents, grandparents, and babysitters. Like everyone, we are doing this all with the backdrop of crisis-driven school calendar changes, limited resources, and an understanding of virtual learning that we are building as we go.