PLANK SIX:
MUSTER AN ARMY
OF VOLUNTEERS

"A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could."

UNKNOWN

We should supplement the one-to-many, in-class teaching paradigm with a one-to-one educational approach which involves parents. Parents are a child's first caregivers, and they should not abdicate their primary responsibility (a big part of which is education) to the "system." Parents should be encouraged to become more involved in education to ensure the proper learning outcomes for their children. Parents are much more than providers of food, shelter, and safety. Parents are teachers of their children, and can meaningfully contribute to learning by checking homework, reading to young children, asking questions, engaging kids in conversation, and the thousand other ways parents create a stimulating learning

environment at home.

Mentors can also play a critical role as part-time, substitute parents. This is clearly reinforced by the impact they can have on kids in a one-to-one relationship (Big Brothers and Big Sisters, Friends of Children, Rainier Scholars); a one-to-a-few relationship (Summer Search, Seattle Scores); or a one-to-many environment (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, "Y" Guides). Children could gain access to learning mentors through a social networking software application. This could be a highly leveraged use of technology.

Tutors can focus attention on specific subject matter difficulties. The use of peer tutors--students helping students--should be employed in a much broader way. Students who excel in a particular subject matter offer an excellent educational resource available to work one-on-one with a peer who is having difficulty. Team READ, a non-profit group that provides student tutors for children who are not reading at grade level, is a great example