Written by CMC Director of Education Services, Anne Dugger
On Wednesday, November 5, the Education team hosted two tutor talks with the intention of focusing our work, no matter the results of this newest election. Our intent was to talk with our volunteer tutors about the work we will continue to do to help our students (and our tutors!) continue their learning. We were heartened to have tutors come to these talks and steer the conversation towards our ongoing commitment to the CMC mission and values. We certainly talked some politics, but with the understanding that we wanted to look forward as we navigate divisions within our own families and communities.
Despite our plans to dive into discussion on current events, the talk on Wednesday morning immediately began with a question about explaining present perfect tense! I was personally delighted to think about something that seems small but that created a space for all of us to think of our students and one of our favorite subjects – grammar! As we were talking, one of the participants expressed the idea that answering these questions about English grammar, cultural differences, and yes, the election, felt as important as our civic duty of voting. I realized we have all been focused for a very long time on this election and on making our voices heard, one side or the other. To have a chance to recognize the work we do each week with students as being just as important as the election renewed my own sense of focus and purpose to continue to help everyone in the CMC community reach towards progress and learning.
We have work to do. That work is important in the ways that voting is important – being a part of the community around us is a civic duty. It is a right we enjoy. It is a responsibility to our brothers and sisters around us. The work we do, as is stated in the CMC mission statement is “to offer hope and opportunity through educational and supportive services.” Every tutoring session, every hand reached out in service to others, every “small question” creates a mountain of moments that are significant. We can move forward, and we can progress if we continue to do our community-building work: not only voting, but answering grammar questions and connecting culturally. We don’t need an election to determine our focus or our commitment; we need each other – our staff, our students, our clients, our residents, and our volunteers. We create lasting changes as long as we continue our commitment to our community.
To help us continue our work, join our tutor orientations every first Thursday or Friday of the month. You can sign up at www.cmc-cr.org. We look forward to meeting you!