Are you a teacher, tutor, community volunteer, school administrator, or another kind of educator who would like to positively impact students or others under your supervision? It’s a worthy and noble goal but one that can sometimes seem elusive. The good news is that even in today’s challenging learning environment, there are several effective techniques that can produce measurable results. Individuals from all walks of life sign up with local charities to tutor adult learners.
Others assist young people with college financing by cosigning on student loans, acting as mentors for teens and fellow teachers, creating no-cost online courses in various categories, helping high schoolers fill out college applications, and volunteering with church or hospital groups. Fortunately, there are virtually unlimited ways for educators to make the world a better place. Consider the following common examples.
Tutor Adult Learners
If you would like to do something simple but powerful to make a difference in the community, check with the local library system and ask about volunteer opportunities. City-based social departments serve as clearinghouses to match willing tutors with immigrants who need to gain basic English skills. Additionally, many tutoring volunteers donate a few hours per week instructing adult literacy programs, teaching job search skills to unemployed folks, and showing young people how to fill out trade school applications.
Cosign for a Student Loan Refinance Applicant
Teachers don’t usually serve as cosigners on student loans or refinance applications. However, if you know someone well and want to give them a chance to gain a significant amount of financial relief, being a cosigner is a positive step. When recent college graduates refinance student loans with a cosigner, they have the chance to immediately reduce their monthly payments. What’s more, a successful refi application can mean much better terms, lower interest rates, and more time to repay the full balance of the obligation. When you append your name as a cosigner, the applicant’s chances for approval rise considerably. Keep in mind that many who are just starting their careers have limited credit histories and can gain a lot just by having a cosigner.
Be a Mentor
Serving as a mentor to individuals is one of the most rewarding and powerful ways to change someone’s life. Don’t assume that all mentoring openings are with high school or college students because there are opportunities to mentor friends, new teachers, coworkers, and adults who sign up with social service agencies. The role can be as limited or expansive as you wish but strive to make connections with those whose needs you can meet. There’s no typical mentoring assignment, but most who take on the responsibility meet with their charges at least once per week, in person or via online video connections.
In this episode of the Modern Mentor podcast, host Rachel Cooke talks to Ryan Jenkins, who shares some fascinating data on the real impacts of loneliness, and some practical ways we can all rediscover and amplify our feeling of connection.
Create a Free Online Course
Write and produce a free class about a subject you know well. It can be anything you feel comfortable teaching about, including academic topics, crafts, personal development, or a popular hobby. Browse a few of the platforms and websites that specialize in offering no-cost classes to get a general idea of how to structure and present an educational course for public consumption.
Work on a Voter Registration Drive
Contact the local elections office and sign up to work a voter registration booth in your community. Adding names of eligible citizens to voter rolls is an important part of building a more responsive, active electorate. You can commit to as many or as few hours as you wish, and the work is not physically or mentally demanding.
Chaperone Educational Summer Trips
Schools, churches, community organizations, and children’s homes sponsor summer trips to foreign countries, theme parks, and national parks. Often, such programs lack the requisite number of chaperones. Being a licensed educator with a local district enables you to submit your name as a potential chaperone for groups of all sizes. Always check with your own school district first, as there are numerous opportunities to oversee groups of teens who take two-month educational trips to Europe during the summertime break from classes.
Volunteer With a Local Church or Hospital
Don’t restrict yourself to duties that include the word teaching in their titles. Instead, be open to a wider variety of assignments and tasks that serve the local community but still utilize your skills as an educator. Two of the best resources for classroom teachers who wish to assist others during the summer break are hospitals and churches or synagogues. Contact social service directors at nearby medical facilities and ask what you can do to help. Don’t forget to let them know you’re a licensed educator.
Many hospitals have a need for part-time tutors in children’s units. Your role there is to assist kids who need to keep up with schoolwork while doing longish stints in medical units. The job is an excellent and personally rewarding way to educate youngsters who face serious conditions like cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Churches and synagogues have similar needs for summertime help. Speak with pastors and rabbis to find out what you can do to contribute to short-term seminars and weekend classes for adults and children.
Assist Students With College Application Essays
One of the trickiest parts of college applications is the essay. Most institutions include at least a short version in student packets, and the instructions can be confusing. Plus, many colleges and universities ask prospective attendees to write essays that are rather lengthy. For high school seniors who struggle with writing cohesive papers and paragraphs, your assistance as a proofreader and guide can make a huge difference in their chances of gaining admittance to the school of their choice.
A college essay can be an exploratory journey that ends up being about much more than getting into college. College Essay Guy, Ethan Sawyer, joins the Grammar Girl podcast to talk about how he helps students find their story.
Remember that it’s not your role to write the essay but to use the student’s first draft as a guide to help them craft a more organized, clearer document. Offer suggestions about structure, grammar, spelling, and points to include or omit. Realize that it can take several attempts before arriving at a final version that meets the requirements. As a final step, use a grammar and spelling app to check for obvious errors, but use old-fashioned proofreading to review the essay before submitting it.