Make Hard Things Easy
By Chelsea Boniak | October 27, 2017
Dear Children Rising Community,
As our staff, volunteers, and community partners once again team with our school districts to support at-promise children within the East Bay, we believe the more we “can make hard things easy”, the more Children Rising and our partners are able to make a profound difference through our various programs.
First, we do our best to make it easy for school districts to utilize our various programs as they strive to close the achievement gap for students – a critically important objective along the way to improved social justice.
Second, we provide our volunteers with training, tools, and coaching so it is easier for them to have the type of quality interaction with a student that will create a lasting impact and substantially improve the trajectory of that student’s life.
This week as a newly minted Math Tutor, I began a quest to make math easier for four fifth-graders who are struggling at a second grade level of math fluency. Each, of course, is struggling for different reasons and each are brilliant in other areas, such as science and reading. When asked about their favorite subjects or activities, they positively light up. When asked about how they feel about math, a dark cloud of tiredness and discouragement suddenly hovers over them. All four students are eager to have help with making something that is now hard to them much easier.
That is what we hope to do through all of our programs – generating inspiration, removing roadblocks, and building confidence. It’s a real gift to be able to spend a couple of hours each week with these special children. If you haven’t tried it yet, take it from me, it will make your day! And… we make it easy for you!
For the Children,
Jim Wambach