Tutoring Experience Reflection

Much of the transformation and impactful experiences in my life have taken place in the presence of others with a while leading backpacking trips, retreats, or during tutoring session. These are experiences of reflection and learning as well as connecting on a deeper level with people I normally would not. One of my passions is teaching, which I have also been able to explore during trips/retreats in addition to the obvious application to tutoring. Since I have been a freshman in high school, I have tutored a wide variety of students from preschool to college seniors. Seeing the range of students has given me insight of how people think and different ways I can approach and help them. The moment when a student understands a new concept or a
During my sophomore year of college, I decided to lead one of the alternative spring break trips at my school. I took a group of ten students to New Orleans, and my co-leader and I were completely in charge of ensuring the safety and well being of all the students. One of the students on the trip had applied to be a leader but was denied. He ended up on the trip as a participant and ignored everything my co-leader from the first day. One day, we visited Audubon Park near sunset and thought everyone deserved some time away from the group, so we asked everyone to stay in pairs or a group. To begin, Conner had gone off with two other students, but he quickly departed after he was out of my sight. We gathered the group back together and looked for him immediately. We eventually found him, wandering by himself. At this point, everyone in the group was fed up with his rude and inconsiderate behavior. I decided I would not address him until we were away from the group to avoid riling up the group. The difficulty came in deciding how to act next. I had been tirelessly planning the trip for months now, and he had single-handedly derailed it. Later that night, I confronted him as coolly as I could compose myself. With little empathy to spare after an exhausting week, I asked him why he thought the group and his leaders were unhappy with him. He responded that he had walked off and was being aloof during the trip, having a challenge connecting with the other students. I was optimistic because he admitted to having difficulty with the other students and opened up to me. I decided I would not end the trip even though Conner put himself in danger. I did ask him if he could be engaging with other members of the group and put on a good face as best he could. I learned from the encounter that even if you think you cannot deal with a problem in a certain