The children enjoy a hot lunch before meeting with their tutors. Photo by Michael Hudson
“When children are successful academically, their self-esteem goes up,” says Carmen Marshall, coordinator of the youth program at St. Andrew, Scarborough. “Some people believe it’s the other way around, but as an academic, I feel that they first need to be successful in school and then their self-esteem will rise.”
With a firm belief in this philosophy, the retired teacher runs a Saturday tutoring and mentoring program for the parish’s youth that engages not only the young people, but also a large part of the congregation.
The program has 56 children registered and each child works one-on-one with a tutor from the congregation. “When we were opening up the program, I thought that I would need to get tutors from outside,” says Ms. Marshall. “I made contacts with principals, retired principals and others, but the response from the congregation itself was so overwhelming that we have not gone outside yet.”
One Saturday, a student and a tutor may choose to concentrate on an academic area where the student needs help. Another Saturday, the student may bring up a dilemma he or she is dealing with at school, such as a conflict with another child, in which case the tutor will focus on mentoring. Each tutor fills out a weekly reporting form with the student, answering questions like: How was school this week? What went well? What did not go well? What areas would you like to work on today? What did we accomplish?
“I take the forms home every Saturday and read them through,” says Ms. Marshall. “They give me an insight into what’s happening to the child at school, at home, in the society. At our program, we strive to close all the gaps that children can fall through. When I see what did not go well, then if I need to, I will talk to the parents or the school, or I will design something for that particular child according to what the form indicates.”
Parishioners who do not tutor also get involved in the program. One couple cooks the lunch the children receive before the tutoring session; others donate books or bake cookies. Some youth who have been tutored come back as junior tutors.
“Every opportunity we have, we give messages of caring,” says Ms. Marshall. “We have high expectations for our youth, but we also give them skills to reach those expectations. When we see the report cards come in, we see that they improve very quickly. Some of our students have had outstanding reports. I don’t understand how it happens so quickly, but sometimes I really want to shed a tear when I see how the children feel. When we ask why they come to the program, they say: ‘Because I feel welcome, because I feel like I belong.’”
Ms. Marshall says that the tutoring and mentoring program is part of a larger approach to the needs of the youth at St. Andrew. Friday nights, a youth group of about 20 people aged 13 and up meets at the church, facilitated by Ms. Marshall’s daughter, Suzanne Marshall.
A student and tutor work together. Photo by Michael Hudson
“We talk about walking the Christian path, developing the compassion to share with others, keeping positive, making Christ the center of our life, and current issues like violence,” says Ms. Marshall. “Suzanne also works with the students to create a life plan, so they talk about setting goals and how to reach them. They plan youth events for the church, trips, black history events. This time of year they also talk about finding summer jobs.”
The final component of the youth program is music. On Saturday mornings, before the tutoring and mentoring program, the teens join the younger children for youth choir rehearsal. “We do different types of music: classical, gospel, unison, harmony,” says Ms. Marshall. “We also have an instrumental part where all the choir members play their recorders. Some children play clarinet, flute, trumpet, baritone or steel-pan. They perform every month at the church, and they are very well received by the congregation.
She says that the focus of the youth program is to create a welcoming and supportive environment for the young people. “I keep saying over and over that none of the students who come through our doors are going to be lost to violence,” she says. “And I make that claim because I know what we can give them. We know what the gangs can give them, we know what they offer them. We offer much more. We offer sincerity, we offer love, and the only thing they have to do in return is to concentrate on their own goals and stay out of negativity.”
