DATE: Friday, June 20, 1997                 TAG: 9706180235

SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER      PAGE: 5E   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY SUSAN W. SMITH, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   80 lines

23 GREAT BRIDGE SENIORS TUTORED YOUNGER STUDENTS EXPERIENCE WAS GOOD TRAINING FOR COLLEGE-BOUND EDUCATION MAJORS AND THEIR PUPILS.

This year, 23 seniors from Great Bridge High School attended Great Bridge Intermediate School for reading, writing and arithmetic.

But Braden Cobb, 18; Crystal Breeden, 19; Dana Holmes, 17; and others did not go back for refresher courses. Each morning during the school year, the older students walked across the street to the intermediate school to participate in a tutoring program to help third-, fourth-and fifth-graders sharpen their multiplication, cursive writing and vocabulary skills.

Three years ago, Rebecca C.W. Adams, principal of Great Bridge Intermediate School and Robert G. Robinson, principal of Great Bridge High School, devised the program so the students from each school could benefit from each other.

``The young students get individual help, and the older students get a sample of education from the other side of the desk before they spend four or more years in college as education majors,'' said Adams.

``We played games together and I learned my spelling words,'' said Andrew Karpin, 9, about his time spent with Anna Oliver, 18.

``And I realized teaching is definitely my interest, but I may think about secondary school,'' said Oliver, who also volunteered to help with the school play.

As an elective class, high school students interested in teaching can register to participate as tutors at their neighboring school.

Once accepted into the program, they have to attend a two-week training session to learn about the school's reading program, the importance of a child's self-esteem, learning labs, classroom protocal and to practice some of their own skills before working with the little students.

``I learned that to know something and to know how to teach it are different abilities,'' said Amanda Bowls, 17.

Besides helping the youngsters, the seniors get hands-on experience working with teachers, completing lesson plans, crafting bulletin boards, accompanying field trips and many other intermediate school activities. Adams said she tries to match a tutor's area of interest like Spanish or special education with a teacher's classroom needs.

The program re-enforced Amy Meyers' goal to be a physical-education teacher.

For almost a year, Meyers, 18, arrived before 7 a.m. to get ready to lead exercises, basketball and relay games for about 40 children. She even did bus duty before heading over to the high school for her own classes.

``I had a great time and I learned teaching and coaching take a lot of patience. But the hardest part was saying good-bye to all the children,'' said Meyers, who has plans to attend Central Missouri State University as a physical-education major in the fall.

``I had some doubts about my future plans, but after working with kids every day, I know I really want to teach,'' said Amber Lassiter, 17, as she and Alfred Greene, 9, reviewed multiplication flash cards.

``It's great to have another set of hands in the classroom,'' said Mary Beth Recklehoff, who teaches third grade. ``Often a few more minutes of individual work makes a difference.''

``Besides getting a real taste of classroom experience, the high school students served as great role models,'' said Adams. ``And our intermediate students showed wonderful results whether it was from needing extra time to review or making up work missed due to an illness.''

John Curtice, 17, who had a third-grade fan club even before his recent draft by the Boston Red Sox, was one of the role models who passed on advice to his class.

``Practice, practice, practice to be good at anything and never give up,'' said Curtice, who once attended class in his Great Bridge baseball uniform and gave his intermediate friends one of his first interviews.

Elaine Haven, Curtice's supervising teacher, said Curtice, like many of the other high school students, even attended after-school activities like the Saturday Bicycle Rodeo and class picnics.

Like most classes, the seniors received a report-card grade based on attendance, performance, and contributions to the program. But unlike other classes, they also received some special drawings, poems and lots of hugs to take home. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by STEVE EARLEY

Great Bridge senior Cherie Furlough uses flash cards to tutor Alfred

Greene, a third-grader at Great Bridge Intermediate School, in

multiplication.

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