Jeremy's Story

Jeremy Tang – ReachOut! Club Mentor 2011-12


2nd Year English Language and Linguistics student at Queen Mary, University of London

Queen Mary Freshers Fair. One of the first events of my university life and I was overwhelmed with the different societies/volunteer opportunities that were on offer, however, a small stall drew my attention - ReachOut! was promoting their cause; to mentor disadvantaged children in the local community. I signed up for more info...

Training. I was very nervous and clueless as to what was going to happen but the session went really well and I learnt many things, such as the different ways you could teach Maths (never knew how the methods have advanced so much!), techniques for dealing with challenging behaviour, and all the things I could gain from the experience.

I chose the ReachOut! Club in De Beauvoir Primary School in Hackney, and after a year there, it's safe to say I wouldn't choose another school! I would be lying if I didn't say I was apprehensive about going into Hackney for the first time. You make judgements from the news; however, it was totally misconstrued. I had no problems in Hackney and when I tell my friends back home about my experiences, they find it very hard to believe!

The first session. It was weird, setting foot into a primary school and all these memories flooding back! I met other Queen Mary and UCL students, who had signed up to the programme and it was great to hear why they were taking part; reasons ranging from wanting to help the community to considering working with children as their chosen profession.

'What had I let myself in for?' That was the question running through my head when we walked into the room with the kids. They were very hyperactive and it gave me a shock, some of them play fighting and some running around like they were on sugar. We met Maxwell, the Project Leader, and then all introduced ourselves to the kids in the order; name, favourite colour, favourite football team. Most of the kids were Man United fans; I was a Liverpool fan so I knew we would have a rivalry straight away!

Sports was a big part for the boys. At the start of most sessions we played football, promoting respect and team work in the progress. This gave the kids a chance to run around whilst enjoying themselves, whilst developing their character by working as a team and exercising fairness. However, you question your own sport skills when you get nutmegged by a ten year old! Sportsmanship can show a person's true character and this was reflected in the games we played and how some of their personalities progressed from the start of ReachOut! till the final session. Usually at the end of sessions, we joined up with the girls and played dodge-ball, which highlighted the ferocious rivalry between the girls and boys and was some fun for the mentors who tried to take it light-heartedly (even though I couldn't!).

Numeracy and Literacy. All the children were at different levels academically and needed tasks appropriate to their level. I was assigned to mentor one child and worked with him throughout the project supporting him with Maths and English. The different exercises gave it variety which didn't make it boring, and we worked in his book especially for ReachOut! (designed in the first week). The improvement was astonishing, and his handwriting also improved which is imperative. The key to any child is to guide them to the right answer, whether it be in comprehensions or maths equations, making them use their initiative and they will gradually improve in their work.

De Beauvoir has given me some great memories, specifically seeing my mentee grow in personality and academically. All I wanted when I first started at ReachOut! was for the children to take something positive from this programme, and I can safely say that everyone learnt something from their experience, whether it be their character or academically. One particular memory I will take away from my first year was when all the boys in unison went 'Oh!' in an undertone of sadness when Maxwell announced the programme was coming to an end.

I believe that I have learnt a great deal from the project myself such as learning how to deal with different situations, becoming more confident and I have been touched by the bonds that we as a group formed with the children. Managing my time with my university work and volunteering was not as hard as I thought, as long as you plan for the deadlines, the experience is invaluable and I would recommend it to anyone!

Just head to the ReachOut! website (www.reachoutuk.org) and sign up or get information from your freshers fair! As for me, I look forward to leading a group of mentors this coming year, an immense challenge that I relish.