Pretty much my favorite place to have volunteered at. In most tutoring programs, you develop relationships with your pupils, but the model RefTrans uses for tutoring adults (one-on-one, in-home tutoring, with a minimum 6-month commitment) really fosters strong bonds and (hopefully) lasting friendships. It's a little terrifying to begin with, despite their trainings, because you're basically on your own and may have very little experience. If you're the kind of person who learns best by doing, though, this is an ideal situation to develop learner-specific teaching skills.
I absolutely adore my tutee, who is constantly cracking me up, and I really enjoy spending time with her. We vary activities a lot; in addition to sitting on the floor with pens and paper, we go on a lot of field trips - some of which we will not repeat (I'm looking at you, creepy pervert at the DMV!), and it usually feels much more like a normal friendship than any student/teacher dynamic. In none of my other friendships, though, have I started crying when I saw someone sound out their first word and understand it, or been too overjoyed that they knew a certain word to get upset at them for using it to play a practical joke on me (don't use English for evil!). read more