By Frances Riotte
Your teaching will be enhanced and your stress level will be lowered by using the volunteers who may come to you from the community. Council of Volunteer Reading Tutors, Literacy Volun teers of America, and other groups are anxious to help. Other sources include your own friends and acquaintances who show a positive interest in your work. If you make volunteering a reward ing and productive time for an individual, they will bring others to serve in your classroom. Most volunteers are excited about working directly with a student. Others are willing to help with house keeping and clerical tasks. Be sure to contact your county school office or adult education volun teer coordinator for any needs you have. You, however, are the best resource for finding the type of person with whom you can most easily work.
Volunteer help in teaching your students is NOT a negative reflection on your abilities. Keep in mind that, in a three-hour class of 15 students, you only have available about 12 minutes per student for individual attention. Many of your students will need much more than that. In addition, some volunteers enjoy helping with clerical and organizational tasks ó copying and collating, putting shelves and cupboards in order, even cleaning. These volunteers benefit your student by showing how interested others are in their success and they free your time to teach. USE THEM!
I have learned from experience that there are some keys to making work with volunteers successful for me, the volunteer, and the students. Try my ideas, but adapt them as necessary. Talk about your program to others. At every opportunity, invite prospective volunteers to visit your class. Do not allow a prospective volunteer to commit to work with you until he or she has a feel for what the experience will be like.
Have each classroom visitor complete a personal information form. Most counties have their own form, which they are using in elementary and secondary schools. This form is necessary for several reasons:
Keep a copy of this form for yourself and submit the original to the appropriate office. Keep a written record of volunteer hours óeven for just a single visit. Post each volunteer's volunteer hours form in an easily accessible place so that the volunteer can record his/her hours upon leaving the classroom. Suggested locations include the back of a door or the side of a filing cabinet.
Treat each volunteer as a professional and demand that your students do the same. Volunteers not only help teach and organize; they build the self-esteem of your student and enhance the value of the adult education program in the eyes of the community. Introduce the volunteer individually to each student. (Ask the volunteer if he/she prefers to be called by first name or formal title.)
Provide your volunteer with a printed summary of expectations and procedures. Encourage the volunteer to ask questions about anything, anytime. Do not abandon your volunteer to figure out what to do ó although many will eventually fall into the pattern of developing procedures of their own. As long as they complement what you do, rejoice. If you feel a volunteer's manner or method is hurting the student, do not hesitate to discuss it with the volunteer. Your STUDENT is your first responsibility.
Show flexibility. If a volunteer cannot keep a scheduled time commitment, be gracious. This encourages the volunteer to return without guilt.
Give the volunteer something to do! On the first visit, they may choose only to observe. But, if possible, engage the person immediately with a student. Explain your assignment system and ask the volunteer to simply sit with the student. Provide the volunteer with a duplicate book, if possible, and just ask them to follow along and offer help if the student so requests.