Chicago #2 for US Destinations

 Just last week, TripAdvisor users ranked Chicago as #2 for top U.S. destinations! The ranking places Chicago just before San Francisco, CA, and behind New York, NY. For our readers who are not familiar with the Windy City, there are endless opportunities to get the full Chicago immersion experience, but I'll fill you in on some of my favorite places in this beautiful city.
     Chicago is the third most populated city in the U.S.  It is renowned for its culture in the performing arts, its cultivation of classical music, and its popular culinary dishes such as the Chicago-style hot dog and deep-dish pizza.  Chicago attracts more than 40 million visitors annually. With endless sites to see and activities to do, this beautiful city is a tourist hub. The perfect time of the year to visit Chicago is the summertime when the weather is warm and sunny, which we will hopefully be seeing soon! Whether travelling alone, with the family, a group of friends, or significant other, visitors are guaranteed to have a memorable vacation. There are a number of hotels in the city, but the prime location to stay for a three- or four-day planned weekend trip would be somewhere along the Magnificent Mile. It is adjacent to downtown and is located one block east of Rush Street, which is infamous for its nightlife scene. When visiting Chicago, shopping along the mile-long strip of various mid-range and high-end retail shops, restaurants, and museums is a must-do. One can view some of the tallest buildings in the U.S. with gorgeous architecture, when walking from store to store, such as the John Hancock Center and the Trump International Hotel and Tower.
     After a long day of shopping, the next destination to go to is Navy Pier. The 3,300-foot long pier along the shoreline of Lake Michigan offers numerous activities such as riding the 150-foot Ferris wheel, playing 18 holes of mini-golf, seeing a Shakespeare play, and sharing a bag of cinnamon almonds with friends while viewing a fireworks show. Visiting Navy Pier would be the best way to end a night out in Chicago.
     The next day calls for a trip to the beloved Shedd Aquarium which is also located along the Lake Michigan shoreline. The Shedd is the largest indoor aquarium in the world and is home to more than 8,000 aquatic animals and 1,500 different species consisting of fish, marine mammals, birds, snakes, amphibians, and insects from across the globe. The aquarium offers several different exhibits and presentations to its visitors.  Some of the permanent exhibits include the Waters of the World, which features exhibits on oceans, rivers, islands and lakes, and the species they are home to, as well as the Caribbean Reef exhibit which features a diver that interacts with the animals in a circular tank while talking to the aquarium’s visitors. One of the current special exhibits is the Jellies exhibit. The Jellies is extremely popular because it features the many different species of jelly fish from around the world.
     After visiting the Shedd, a stroll through Millennium Park would be another fun activity to enjoy the summer sun. Millennium Park is a public park that is located in the heart of the city. It features a variety of gardens and public art which includes the infamous “Bean”, also known as Cloud Gate. The Bean is a three-story reflective, steel sculpture in the shape of a legume that was created by world-renowned artist, Anish Kapoor, and was inspired by liquid mercury. Its mirror-like surface reflects and distorts the vast skyline of Chicago as well as the numerous visitors it attracts. Taking a “selfie” of yourself with the Bean is definitely required to commemorate your trip.
     After a long day at the Shedd Aquarium and Millennium Park, a visit to the Willis Tower Skydeck is a must. Willis Tower, formerly known as the Sears Tower and one of the tallest buildings in the world, is a 108-story, 1451-foot skyscraper. On the 103rd floor of the building is the Skydeck, an observation deck which features The Ledge, a glass balcony that extends four feet outside the floor that towers over the scenic city. It is most beautiful at night, when looking out at all of the luminescent buildings that stretch for miles and miles. It would be the perfect end to a vacation in Chicago to reminisce over the lasting memories made. Those are just some of the many attractions that Chicago has to offer, so multiple trips back would be the best way to carry on the fun that the cultural traditions of the city provides its visitors.

Madeline Mehall
Loyola University Chicago

Dominican Republic Education System

     The current status of the education system in the Dominican Republic is in critical condition. It has been ranked by UNESCO and the World Forum as being the worst in the Central American and Caribbean region. The biggest issue and reasoning behind the extremely poor ranking is the lack of funding. Spending on education is 1.9 percent of GDP, which according to Law 66-97 is really
supposed to be allocated to four percent. That definitely shows that education is not the government's top priority, despite all the protests and demands from the public.
     To make matters worse, children of Haitian descent that were born in the Dominican Republic are not allowed to attend school. Numerous amounts of families with school-age children are being turned down following a court rule that is stripping people of their citizenship. Due to the court rule, children are dropping out of school, losing their scholarships, or being forced into child labor. This is a clear violation of human rights and is affecting thousands of people. Human rights groups say that "roughly 200,000 people could be affected, while the government put the number at 13,000 people", according to a compiled report made by researchers at the Human Rights Institute at Georgetown University. The Dominican government is leaving people behind and should not deny children the right to an education, especially if they are natural-born citizens with a Haitian ancestry. They are being denied the basic documents of identification or are having their documents taken by the government despite being born there.
     According to the constitution of the Dominican Republic, everyone has the right to an education, including those without the proper documentation. The reason it became an issue, is that proof of citizenship is required before taking national exams. Some generous teachers and administrators may overlook the lack of proper documents to help advocate for their students. There is an "estimated 48,000 children who lack identification documents" that are enrolled in primary school, taken by the Ministry of Education. Representatives from the government of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are meeting to discuss the issue, and will hopefully find a solution as soon as possible because no child should be denied the right to an education anywhere.

Madeline Mehall
Loyola University Chicago

Dreams Do Come True

Well, you see…It seems like they’ve done it again! The role models just seem to never fail us and keep on surprising us each and every time. Now I know you’ve heard about the new Miss America, right? Wait…is that a yes or no? Because if you haven’t, what rock do you live under? Anyway, judging that we all have seen or heard about the Miss America pageant the other day, we must discuss, right? First, let’s just start off by giving a round of applause to the new Miss America, Nina Davuluri! *And the crowd goes wild*

Wow! Nina Davuluri is our new Miss America. Femi Memorial Outreach Fund couldn’t be any more proud to learn this. Even though she is going to be working even harder, carrying out the daily duties and the honorable title of Miss America, we think she will do great. Now, based on previous pageant history, Nina Davuluri is the first, I mean The First Miss America of Indian descent. This is great and such a huge deal! This comes to show that America equals diversity. While the other contestants and runner-ups were amazingly stunning and did great (and I’m sure they are great role models), this just shows a lot of young girls, who don’t really have role models in their lives, that anything is possible. With positivity, support and hard work, you can get there. Nina Davuluri couldn’t have done it without her hard work, her positive energy and the support of her family, obviously.

  The young girls that take part in Femi Memorial Outreach Fund’s tutoring program can be the next Miss America. This is why we are out here doing what we love to do. Reaching out to children who come from multicultural and underserved communities warms our heart so much. We do this because we see potential in them. We don’t want them to think that their financial background or where they come from should define them and their futures. People like us give them hope, education is essential in this world and Femi Memorial Outreach Fund does its very best to make sure that these children are getting that and more. In reality, we are tutoring our future doctors, lawyers, business professionals, famous sports players and even Miss America!

 So, Nina Davuluri, Femi Memorial Outreach Fund wants to wish you the very best and don’t let us down. We know that you will create great paths as Miss America and you, my friend, have shown little girls that dreams do come true. Your beauty, talents and humility are key to being Miss America. Thank you for never forgetting where you come from! Oh and New York congrats, next time we'll see if the Windy City can have a Miss America.

         

   So World, what do you think? Please leave positive comments below and tell us what you think Nina Davuluri should accomplish during her term as Miss America.

Photo Credits: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/16/showbiz/miss-america-racist-reactions/

Wade in the Water Children

Wade in the Water Children

In Northwestern Bangladesh, there is a boat floating down the river alongside rural villages and bathing bodies. On this boat, one of 20, what once was stopped has continued, education. Annual flooding in Bangladesh keeps hundreds of thousands of student out of school, interrupting the education they need for a better life. However, thanks to Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, thousands of children have the chance to continue their education all school year long. This non-profit organization recognizes how important education is and looks at the rivers that run alongside Bangladeshi banks as an opportunity. If children cannot reach the school and then the school will come to the children.

As I start my second week here at Femi Memorial Outreach Fund, I cannot help to find the similarities between these floating schools in Northwestern Bangladesh and our organization. We both strive to help children achieve academic success in environments that aren’t exactly conducive to learning. Whether it is 12 feet of water or the risk of being caught in the crossfire of gang violence, nothing should keep a child from the education that they so desperately want and need.

What A Year...What A Year!

What a year this has been! From Femi Memorial Outreach Fund winning the 2011-2012 Ignation Spirit Team Award to partnering up with Loyola University Chicago, The University of Chicago and Dominican University, and at the same time gaining twelve host locations in various Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Park Districts to include our after-school homework assistance program, I start to think how blessed I was to watch the growth of this organization right before my eyes. I mean, I was actually a part of this whole growth experience for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. From the many accomplishments of Femi Memorial Outreach Fund, I take the time to look back at my very own accomplishments.  As I take a look back from the past, I can’t say that I’ve done it all on my own. Yes, I’ve had a great support system from my family to my friends and I still do. However, one unique support system that I’ve gained these past four years and could never imagine gaining would be that of Femi Memorial Outreach Fund.

From being a little freshman tutor to Head Tutor all the way to becoming an Executive Intern for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund has been not one, but several accomplishments indeed. And if you’re asking, No…I am not tired working for the same organization! Looking back has knocked me over and made me realize that most of my proud accomplishments during my undergrad career come from my experience at Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. Recently, I graduated Loyola University Chicago…..Double Yayyyy! Now, I am not the only 2013 graduate who tutored for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund for their entire undergrad career. Let’s pause and take the time to loudly cheer and clap for our other two awesome graduates….Aubrey Carver and Courtney Neale!

Aubrey, Courtney and I have tutored for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund for four, full years during our undergrad career at Loyola University Chicago. Now even though we didn’t see each other all of the time, they are familiar faces and remain being friends to the organization. With me traveling to schools on the South Side to help out in-class and after-school and going to the Park District locations while they’re traveling to schools and Park District locations as well has caused us to not see each other often. Yet, I know that they’re hard-working and busy as much as I. Even though I can’t exactly speak for the both of them, I can try to speak on behalf of the both of them. I know that tutoring for these past four years during undergrad has been a tremendously amazing and life-changing experience with many ups and downs. The important thing is that during these ups and downs, the children were not alone; we’ve triumphed through it all together, like a family. Nonetheless, I repeat that it was an Ahhh-mazzzing and Life-changing experience!

Now, I know a lot of you are probably reading this and thinking… “You just tutored some kids for four years…Big Whoop!” However, those of you thinking like that won’t know what it’s like until you’ve actually experienced it. And for those of you, who think otherwise, knows what it’s like and actually experienced it. But these children weren’t just any children; these were children who came from underserved and multicultural communities. These were children who walk outside in their communities and see that there is no hope. These are children who haven’t had great role models in their lives and they are at-risk. When I started off my freshman year at Loyola University Chicago, I remember saying to myself that I need a work-study job. And being the fact that my family was against me working during school because they wanted my sole focus to be on my studies, my mother kept telling me that I need to get a work-study job in college. I have an older sister who is about fifteen years older than me and a younger sister who was in high school during the time I was entering college. So technically, I didn’t really know a lot about how to find a work-study job or even how all of this work-study stuff works. Let me tell you, as much as my mother and sister tried to help me out because they graduated college a long time ago, I still felt that finding a good work-study job was hard. So I said okay, I am going to search for a work-study job right now, when I did, I logged on to the Loyola’s Career Website and ding…I came across Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. It was like fate or something because I didn’t know they would call me back for an interview.

I was nervous because I’ve had experienced being a Caddy during the summer and I’ve had summer internships in high school, but I never had an actual job before. Applying to Femi Memorial Outreach Fund was the easy part, interviewing was nerve-wrecking and when I received that call back, it was life-changing.  Life-changing, how? Well, let’s just say that getting to know these children that I’ve tutored and seeing how their lives are different from that of mines has allowed me to grow up, so to speak. I used to be self-centered. I thought that I deserved every little thing in life and that it should be given to me not earned, if I didn’t get anything I viewed it as unfair. Now that I’m looking back at it, I seem pretty selfish. You know that phrase “sharing means caring”…well that wasn’t me! Yet, I met so many kids who are pretty content with every situation of their lives and they go by with very little, almost close to none, every day. I met kids in worse conditions possible. What really is an eye opener is to see that no matter what the situation is, they wanted to go to school and learn something. I changed because of that! I gained sympathy and empathy. It didn’t take one day or one year, but these past four years gave me enough time.

I learned from these children as much as they learned from me! As I move on with my life and continue on to work hard for my future, I will never regret and forget working for Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. Femi Outreach has believed in me from the very beginning and during these past four years it has put a lot of hope and trust in me and my hard work. I’ve gained something incredible and unexplainable from Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. I will always remember the best work-study job and internship experience I’ve had at Femi Memorial Outreach Fund!

In other good news, Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is working to keeping more of you in the loop of things. We have just created our 2013 Newsletter. The 2013 Newsletter talks about our recent accomplishments in the 2012-2013 Academic Year as well give tribute to our most generous and loyal donors. And we can’t forget, Femi Memorial Outreach Fund has dedicated a section to the recent graduates. I know that the organization is proud to see their tutors graduate each and every year. Although it’s always hard to lose a good one, it’s a more positive feeling to see their success, even after their experience with Femi Memorial Outreach Fund. We will miss our tutors, but they know that Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is home and they are welcome to come and help out anytime. Congrats to everyone graduating in the World, from the East Coast to the West Coast all the way down to the Midwest. Wherever you are on the map, whether it’s the United States of America, Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and/or Europe…Congratulations on graduating! Femi Memorial Outreach Fund is proud of you!

Earth Day

April 22^nd is known as Earth Day. I celebrate Earth Day by making sure I turn off the lights I am not using, not letting the water run as I brush my teeth, and making as little trash as possible. But, what more can I do to properly celebrate Earth Day? As I looked into this question, I found a grand history and meaning behind this day. Earth Day was originally founded in 1970 as a day to promote education on environmental issues. Now, many schools have extended this educational holiday to celebrate Earth Week, an entire week dedicated to learning, understanding, and practicing ways to eliminate environmental issues. With a focus on students, April 22^nd was chosen specifically to reach out to students and allow them, and other participants, to get outside and truly enjoy the Earth on its’ very own day.

Earth Day was founded after the inspiration of Senator Gaylord Nelson, who was determined to express the environmental risk of the planet to the government and the nation in 1962. His idea for creating an Earth Day came from his experience in viewing “teach-ins” where anti-Vietnam spokesmen came into classrooms to spread information and educate students about the issue. In 1969 Senator Nelson invited the world to celebrate Earth Day at a conference in Seattle and the people were excited about his proposition. On April 22^nd, supporters of Earth Day and environmental issue education rallied in all major cities in the nation. They made an impact on others and truly revealed the need to understand environmental issues. Now, 200 million people celebrate Earth Day, in one way or another, around the globe.

Some people celebrate by attending information sessions on environmental issues, signing up for cleaning projects or even refusing to use their car on the day. But, no matter how you decide to celebrate the day, the most important part of Earth Day is to become educated on environmental issues. The day was founded based on the need to inform and share environmental concerns with everyone so we can protect ourselves and our planet. So, get informed, spread the word, and enjoy our great planet on this gorgeous Earth Day.

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

5-Year Moratorium

Mayor Rahm Emanuel has officially declared his support for the moratorium on Chicago Public School Closures this Monday, November 26, 2012. When I first read this headline, I had no idea what this meant for CPS and the students and families involved. After further research, I have gained a greater understanding which I will share with all of you readers! The CEO of Chicago Public Schools, Barbara Byrd-Bennett, proposed a five-year moratorium on school closures in-order for the school system to properly size the districts and provide more community involvement in school closure decisions. The moratorium is more-or-less a five year hold on school closures. The idea of holding school closures for five years is to involve the parents and community in all decisions and provide more stability for families. Also, the moratorium will provide CPS with a greater chance to gain a four-month extension on this year’s list of school closings. CPS requested the extension at the end of March this year along with the word that they plan to issue the five-year moratorium, which is now officially proposed. The Illinois House approved this extension on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, and needs Governor Pat Quinn to sign the final legislation before the week is up in order to finalize the extension. Along with the extension, the moratorium is said to halt CPS facility closures after this year. Mayor Emanuel will work with district officials to enforce numerous school closings this year leading to five years free of school closures.

Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and Mayor Rahm Emanuel..
(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) 

Mayor Emanuel has showed his support for the moratorium in saying, “…year after year, Chicago Public Schools did not do an adequate job of engaging communities in these critical decisions, and year after year students, families and communities were left wondering of what was to come. That ends this year." The Mayor believes this will give a peace of mind to communities that have been in constant fear of the unknown. Hopefully, this is the first step to stabilizing schools in the Chicago Public School District and further improving the educational opportunities for students. (Source,Source,Source) 

Leave us a comment and tell us what you think about the five-year moratorium. We want to hear what you think!

Tutor-Mentor Conference

 For those of you who may not have known, the Tutor-Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference came into town this past weekend. Of course, we couldn't miss out on such a great opportunity! Femi Memorial Outreach Fund had the honor of being a part of this annual Conference again to remind us of why our organization is important in the communities we serve. I enjoyed my years working for Femi Outreach as a tutor, and I don’t regret any second, minute or day of it. I had the honor of participating this year as it was my very first Conference and I learned a lot. This Conference exceeded every expectation that I had. Going into this conference, I understood how much of a great help I was with the students understanding their homework. Leaving it opened my eyes more wide as I realized that I am not only helping young children with their homework, I am showing them that there is hope for their futures and that education is the key to their success.

            I went into the Tutor-Mentor Leadership and Networking Conference eager to see what was going to be discussed.  It started off with a networking activity. During this activity, we had one minute to introduce ourselves, the organization that we are coming from and talk about an interesting fact to as many people as we can. I felt that this was a great ice-breaking activity to kick-off the event. I met many Presidents, Directors and Future Leaders of many organizations in this activity alone.

I started off by introducing myself; talked a great deal about Femi Outreach and discussed how the organization employs students that serve as after school tutors and as in-class assistance in schools throughout the Chicago area, then I of course said an interesting fact about me. Meeting these people really gave me the motivation to continue doing what I do with Femi Outreach. I met these people seeing how much of a great help they are for the underprivileged children throughout Chicago and seeing them take action.

There are not many people you will encounter who will actually take the time out of their lives to create something, like an organization, to let these children know that there is hope for their futures. Also, there are not many people who put their hearts and hard work into an organization as well. Femi Outreach is an organization that doesn’t just have people who just work for it. It has people that care to make a difference in these children’s lives and we care to take part in an action that creates a better future for these children.

serves as aftThroughout the day, there were interactive workshops based on topics such as Learning How to Build a Social Media Campaign, Making Youth Safety a Priority, Mentoring Models, and Engaging in Leadership Roles, just to name a few. I started off the morning with a workshop called Mentoring/Coaching Initiatives to Reduce Violence. Of all the other workshops provided, I chose this one. Why? Well, I felt that I would learn a lot of information that has never been explained to me before, and little do we know I DID. The reason why I enjoyed this workshop so much is because it was more of an interactive activity rather than someone up in front explaining statistics and other things to the audience. Instead, we had a great discussion on what we can do to reduce the violence.

I realized that with all the violence that has been going on in Chicago comes from a lot of people who do not have the strong, supportive family, friends or even mentors to stand behind them. They don’t have anyone telling them that staying in school is the key to saving your life. We discussed that the root causes of this violence comes from unsupportive family members, choices of bad friends, lack of community resources, and so on. So in the end, it really comes down to what we do as an organization. If Femi Outreach continues to do the great job that it does, then we are the reduction to the violence. During the second part of the morning workshops I participated in How to Build a Social Media. What I took from this workshop were ways to promote Femi Memorial Outreach Center.

After the morning workshops, we had lunch while watching a documentary called On the Front Line: Taking Back Our Streets. It was this very documentary that made me appreciate Femi Memorial Outreach more than I already do. This documentary basically followed young adults who took the wrong path in life because they felt that they had no support and no opportunities in their community to engage them to stay in school and out of trouble. This documentary also revealed angered communities due to the violence going on and the innocent lives lost because of it. One innocent life lost was that of Blair Holt. For those of you who may not know, Blair Holt was a 16-year old student from Julian High School, who was shot on the CTA bus trying to be a hero. He was not an intended target but was hit. They charged two teens with the crime and to hear that crime was committed by two young men was shocking. In this video, I witnessed the pain of his parents as they try to promote less violence in Chicago.

As we see more and more of the violence going on, that’s more chances for innocent lives being lost. What can we do? As said earlier, we can help those in need. Not give them money, nor jobs, but help them. Help them strive in a society where not so many people care about you. Give them hope, mentor them, and help them stay in school. On the Front Line: Taking Back Our Streets have expressed that if the violence continues, then it brings a burden of fear and hopelessness for those who have the ability to succeed. And this is why I’ve grown to love Femi Memorial Outreach more and more.

After the lunch break, we headed back to business. That’s right, the afternoon workshops started. I continued the afternoon with two workshops in the following order: Making Youth Safety a Priority and Your Exposure as a Social Capital within the Community. These workshops were more of “remedy” workshops. I reference them as “remedy” workshops because they were more of how we can make a difference and the steps we can take to do that. Promoting mentoring and tutoring organizations in underprivileged communities are great steps to take to kick off a successful organization. Encouraging family members and community residents that organizations like Femi Memorial Outreach Center are there is another great step as well. I enjoyed these workshops because they reminded me of the things Femi Outreach is doing, trying to help out in more communities throughout Chicago.

Femi Outreach doesn’t just tutor children; it gives them hope for their future success. Femi Memorial Outreach Center is an organization that helps students in Public, Charter and Catholic schools in Chicago. We help throughout these schools located on the North, South and West sides of Chicago. We help a diverse pool of children and we enjoy it as well. Not only are we helping out these children understand their work, we are learning a lot from them as well. From my experience as a tutor, providing after school help and in-class assistance, I learned that these children need me as much as I need them. I say this because they are our future doctors, lawyers, professors, mentors and even tutors. Femi Memorial Outreach Center shows children who do not have the support that we, the tutors, and even the CEO care about them. We will try and go out of our way and make sure that their homework is done; they stay out of trouble and in school. We care!

Tutor Mentor Everybody's Business

 Whether it is a public school, charter school, magnet school or private school, everyone is entitled to receive an education in America. Some would argue that the American education system can be ranked as the best in the world. There are countless stories of individuals who strive to achieve the American dream, to live in this great land of opportunity, and to receive an education.  Individuals and families have left behind everything they have ever known and have even sacrificed their lives to come to America for a chance to improve their lives. Many people have had the privilege to be a graduate from an esteemed high school, college, or another higher education institution.  Despite this, our education system is not void of problems.

While everyone in America has the right to receive an education, not everyone receives quality education.  Many critics have suggested that almost half of the American population has not graduated from high school. Hundreds of thousands of children are dropping out of high school every year. Teachers are forced to teach students in overcrowded classrooms with little resources. Some students attend neighborhood public schools with no special education classes, no ESL classes or even a library. Even with the No Child Left Behind Act in place, a policy meant to improve public schools and hold school officials accountable for school performance, many students are failing to meet or exceed academic standards.  Due to poor academic performance, many public schools are dealing with the reality of being closed down.

Nationally, there is the sentiment that the children are the future of America. You may be asking yourself, if children are not excelling academically in schools, what can be done? What can I as an individual, parent, guardian, family member, business owner, or concerned citizen do to help children across America? The answer is that everyone can do something as simple as donating a small sum of money to a community organization that provides educational enrichment services to something as great as starting your own program.  You can volunteer at a nearby organization to be a tutor or mentor. You can get more involved with your school district by attending meetings or looking at your neighborhood school’s annual report card.  Whether it is one hour of your time or five dollars of your money, anything you do can make a difference in some child’s life.  As a society, we must continue to take a vested interest in the education of children, the future of America.

I will leave you with this short metaphor: Picture everyone as a passenger on a boat. The person steering the boat announces that there is a hole that is letting water in the boat. What would you do? Would you save yourself? Would you try your best to stop the boat from sinking? Would you let the boat sink?

The Truth About Tutoring

Have you ever wondered what makes tutoring worthwhile? Here at Femi Memorial Outreach, we see the importance, fun, and meaning behind tutoring students. And well, if you don’t think tutoring sounds like any of these things, I encourage you to continue reading and we will change your mind.

Why tutoring is important?

Tutoring students is important because each student learns a different way. No matter how well his or her teacher explains the material, some students simply need more time to practice the skill. Tutoring provides a supportive environment for students who need this time to be guided in the right direction. Also, tutoring is proven to improve academic achievement for students. The Federal SES program, in which Chicago schools participated, showed that students who attended their after school tutoring sessions showed more of a learning gain in reading and math than those who did not (Source). Results as these prove that spending time to develop your skills will lead to improvement. Now, we are not saying that tutors can get you straight A’s, but they can help to gain a comfortable understanding of your subject and improve your academic performance. The importance of performing at your academic best in immeasurable; education is one of the most important factors in any person’s life and tutors are there to make your education experience smoother.

Why tutoring is fun?

Tutoring is fun because it gives you a chance to work with youth and gain experience. Seeing the look on a student’s face when they can correctly answer their homework problem due to your help is truly priceless. Along with the help you will provide for students, you will also provide them with many smiles, as they for you.  I asked a Loyola tutor what makes tutoring fun for her and she said, “I spend two days a week with a young girl who didn’t know how to spell her name. So, every day we would work together and play games to help her spell her name. After one month, I sat down with her and she handed me a paper, with her name spelled perfectly at the top. Seeing her so proud and happy to be able to spell her name made me realize how awesome my tutoring experience had been. That is what makes tutoring fun for me.”

Tutoring can also be made fun. Let’s be honest, doing homework can get frustrating. But with the right tools, you can make any tutoring session a blast. One way to do this is to spice up your session by approaching problems differently. For example, MentorMob created playlists with quick videos or songs to help students to better understand a concept. By doing this, tutors can create a more diverse learning experience and enjoy time with the students while learning. The journey of encouraging students can be what you make of it, and here at Femi Memorial Outreach, we believe it should be productive and fun!

By the way, MentorMob has an awesome blog. We love it, you should too! Click the link to the right to visit.

Femi Memorial Outreach Tutor and Sttudents

Why tutoring is meaningful?

Now that you know tutoring is important and fun, you might be wondering what makes tutoring worth it. Tutoring has meaning beyond the act of tutoring. Many students grow relationships with their tutors, looking up to them as educational mentors. In my experience, I have had students tell me they want to be just like me when they grow up. They didn’t tell me this because they thought I was some rock-star or celebrity, they told me this because they thought it was cool that I was going to college and they wanted to do that too. You have the ability to connect with students on a level in which many other mentors cannot. The students often need this connection. They can become inspired by you, or feel relief when they get their tests back because you gave them additional tools to succeed. Outside of the tutor/student relationship, families can also be affected by tutoring. The amount of stress parents hold when their child is struggling in school can cause a disturbance in home life. When parents know and trust that their student is being provided with extra help, they can spend less time worrying and more time enjoying their child’s accomplishments.

Tutoring can benefit the tutor, student, and family. It is an educational experience which passes beyond academics and into personal growth and relationship. Femi Memorial Outreach strives to do more than tutor their students. Our motto, “Empowering students. Turning Lives Around.”, reveals our goal as tutors. We want to make tutoring an experience no one will forget. Why? Because tutoring is important, fun, and meaningful. 

Happy Halloween

Femi Memorial Outreach wants to wish you all a very Happy Halloween. We hope you have safe trick or treating and don't stay out too late, school goes on tomorrow morning! 

Charlie Brown: "The Great Pumpkin"

Chicago Teachers Strike

The Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) went on strike Monday for the first time in 25 years, after negotiations failed to result in a new contract after 10 months.


If you have paid attention to the news, there are many varied and often controversial ideas about this event being slung in the news and on the blogosphere.  It has received so much attention that it has reached the national political stage with President Obama supporting the teachers concerns and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney claiming teachers are turning their backs on students.


As a tutor we are in a unique situation. We see where students fall through the cracks. We help them when they are struggling in the classrooms. We see where classrooms and their teachers do not have the resources they need. We also see what happens when kids don’t have a place to go.   We also we work with schools, principals, and teachers who have partnered with Femi Outreach to provide their students with tutors, free of cost.  We work and aid school teachers in classrooms. We tutor some of the neediest students during and after school at the request of teachers and principals.  As tutors we see where schools are struggling to meet the needs of students and we also see how schools reach out to organizations to further assist their students.

Teachers on Strike 09/13/12 Photo Courtesy of Courtney Neale

The title of the Chicago School Board is CEO. Many teachers’ concerns about the corporatization of education are seemingly valid especially with the title of the school board being the same title of a fortune 500 company. School funding is tied to test scores, test scores are also tied to teacher wages and job termination with little regard for varying special education programs or socio-economic factors that are beyond the teachers’ control.  Should schools continue to be funded in this manner? Will this lead to education being further corporatized and further diminish the quality of education for failing schools? Or does corporatization of education strive for improved teaching standards and test scores? There are just some of the many questions that this strike raises for Chicago schools and the direction of public education in general.


CTU Rally 09/14/12 Photo Courtesy of Courtney  Neale

CTU Union Park Rally 09/14/12 Photo Courtesy of Courtney Neale

I understand that we don’t live in a utopia where every district can have the same funding and the supply is endless. Chicago is the 3rd largest district in the United States and thus budgeting issues continually plague Chicago. In addition according to the Chicago Public School’s website, nearly 87% percent of all CPS students come from low-income households. How does this affect the increasingly challenging situation? Do the same corporate standards that apply to more affluent districts work the same when applied to CPS schools?



Two of the sticking points are teacher evaluations and how they affect teachers being laid off.  However, if you other teachers why they are striking it is for a number of different reasons including classroom size, funneling off of funds to charter schools, and lack of support services like social workers. According to the CTU website, “a CTU analysis shows that Chicago class sizes for kindergarten and first grade are larger than 95 percent of school districts in the state.”  32 other states have limits on classroom size, but not Illinois.  For a great interview that discusses teacher concerns and further reasons why they are striking follow the link here.



Union Park CTU Rally 09/14/12 Photo Courtesy of Courtney Neale

I don’t offer any or all solutions here. My role as a tutor makes my first instinct about the students and what is best for them. Is it best for them to have classrooms that are well equipped and with a teacher who is capable of teaching a reasonable class size?  Is it best for them to have available individuals like social workers or additional school nurses so that students can have their needs met? Is it best for them if CPS evaluates their teachers and hold them accountable for test scores to ensure that students meet state and federal achievement standards? Regardless of how a solution is reached, it cannot be at the expense of the students, teachers who are trying to teach them and the overall education system to which all parties have an invested interest in.



While the Chicago Teachers Union strikes, tutoring is not in session. I hope that negotiations can be reached so that I can go back to what I do best: tutoring kids- as I said it’s all about the students for me.

High Hopes