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F E ATU RE S
True confessions: the challenges of a Glen Haven tutor
BY DANIEL GASKIN
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Waiting to go to Glen Haven tutoring center always
made me nervous.
My palms would sweat, nervousness spreading through
me like a virus. It was no small task, going to tutor
impoverished kids who used to be refugees.
I was a horrible tutor. I lacked any real authority with
the kids. I am much more comfortable being yelled at than
being the one who does the yelling. I would beg them to
do their homework, and most times they would laugh at
my pathetic attempts and play with the myriad of toys
that were around. I couldn't help laughing too. I did the
exact same thing when I was their age.
There were even times when I struggled to help when
asked. Some kids were taking upper-level math and would
come to me for help. I took one look at their homework
and immediately directed them to someone else, because I
had no idea what I was doing
In all honesty, I never should have been there. My
schedule was full, and going there twice a week was a
commitment that I would normally forgo, but there was
something different about this place. There was something
different about these kids.
They were strong. Way stronger than I could ever be.
Some had marks on their faces that must've come with
some horrible story, and some were so shy that they
Sometimes, one of (the children) would
wordlessly walk up to you and hug you
for no reason other than because, at that
particular moment, you looked like you
needed one.
could barely speak. But they wouldn't really acknowledge
their misfortune. They were normal, loving kids in every
possible way.
Sometimes, one of them would wordlessly walk up to
you and hug you for no reason other than because, at that
particular moment, you looked like you needed one.
Their optimism inspired me. The fact that they had been
through so much as kids and were moving on with life was
impressive. It was impossible not to love these kids.
I wanted to help them achieve their dreams and be
whoever they wanted to be. I wanted to take away their
past and make them forget that they were ever refugees,
running for their lives from someone who wanted to kill
or imprison them.
I couldn't, though. No matter how hard I thought about
it, there was nothing I could do, other than what I was
already doing: helping them learn English, write well
and get into the habit of doing their homework every day
before they went outside to play. I was just like all the
other tutors who were there. I almost felt like I had no real
impact at all.
But there was always this one girl who hated to see
me go. She wanted me to be there every day so we could
practice her English. She would say to me, "Daniel are you
going to be here tomorrow?" I would always say, "No, but
someone else will be." She would give me this sad little
smile, and say, "Oh, OK. See you some other time then."
She would then walk away and move on, to find a friend,
leaving me there thinking about her words.
|i |*T jiJi A || ]l A chance to express
11 |9JP/%.IL.IL your true self freely
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OI
(Top left) Lights decorated the entrance to the Coming Out Ball in Founders Gallery.
(Above) Attendees shared their coming out stories on a large sheet of paper.
(Right) James Lyons, set-up and media services support technician, deejayed the event,
playing popular hits like PSY's "Gangham Style" and LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It."
(Bottom right) in addition to sharing coming out stories, attendees got to know each other
by playing games such as Apples to Apples.
(Below) For those who wanted to come out of the closet — literally a closet was set
up in one of the galleries.
(Bottom left) Attendees grooved to the music in costume, dressing up as their ideal selves.
i.