About LBN

Hi everyone! The program hasn't officially began yet, but I would like to give you guys an overview of what it is that I signed up for. Today's blogpost will be about Learning Buddies Network, the organization that I'll be working with over the next few months!

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Overview:

Learning Buddies Network, or LBN for short, is a non profit organization that strives to help elementary students develop literacy ✍ and numeracy 💯 skills through one on one mentoring. It's traditionally done in a fun classroom setting after school, but now it's done through Zoom due to covid-19. The population of the buddies mainly consists of disadvantaged children from families that can't afford to have a tutor, and they are usually referred to LBN under the recommendation of their teacher. To completely remove the financial burden from these families, the program is entirely free of charge. The goal of the organization is not only help mentees become more proficient in reading or math, but to also improve their self esteem and confidence by advancing in academic skills. They also hope to ignite their passion to learn and continue in their education just like their mentors who are mainly high school and first year university students. I find their motive really meaningful, and that's what really pushed me to join. 

History:

LBN was established in 2008 by Dr. Alisa Lipson 👩, a pediatrician, Dena & Samantha 👭, her daughters, and Alison Lee 👩, the daughters' friend. Lipson once stated that she would see these kids coming in with learning issues, feeling discouraged. They could see a doctor any time because of our health system, but for their learning problems, basic treatment wasn’t available. Therefore, she and her team of university students created a program where they would work one on one with each child.

Operation:

LBN provides two tutoring programs, reading and math, that run on a weekly basis. Like mentioned earlier, the session are set in school libraries or a particular classroom in the school. Schools are from the lower mainland, but we can now reach out to more schools (not restricted to lower mainland) as it's now virtual. Currently, there are 16 programs running in 10 schools and organizations 📌. They also run during the summer! Mentors and their respective buddies meet 3 times a week in community centres, and each session consists of 8 to 12 pairs. Last year, there were over 300 volunteers and they gave out 5000 hours of free tutoring. In fact, 4500 children received assistance since creation.


Population served:

Students are people who aren't keeping up with basic school subjects such as English and math. Since it's essential to build a strong foundation before they continue in their studies, their teacher may suggest enrolling in this program. They strive to help them achieve solid accomplishments, and therefore stem true self esteem from it. 🌟


Mission:

  1. Free tutoring for elementary kids struggling with basic academics

  2. Improve academic skills, self-esteem, and attitude in learning

  3. Provide youths a meaning & rewarding volunteer experience as a role model



Structure of the Program:

  1. Initial assessment of reading level (1-2 sessions). This to find the starting point, and make it possible to assess their progress. It has 3 parts

      1. phonological awareness, rhymes, beginning/final sounds, phoneme blending/segmenting

      2. Alphabets & phonics

      3. San Diego quick assessment (reading lvl)

  2. Instructional sessions (depends on the length of the specific term)

  3. Final assessment (1-2 sessions)



Structure of a Typical Session:

  1. Greet & connect ✋

  2. Focused breathing exercise 💨

  3. Review familiar skill

  4. Teach new skill

  5. Reread & discuss familiar book 📘

  6. Read new book 📙

  7. Learning activities

  8. 3-7 new word flashcards


Skills that I can develop:

  • Leadership
  • Communication
  • Assertive Attitude
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Patience
  • Enthusiasm
  • Dedication and Commitment
  • Confidence
  • Creativity

Why LBN?

Although I don't know if I can do this well, I really want to give back and contribute to this community through this great opportunity. It's really amazing that there's people out there giving up their free time and energy to make a difference in a child's life one at a time, and I would love to be one of them. I have a math tutor myself, so I know how helpful they can be. Through this program, I hope to see myself be able to be in both the mentor and mentee's shoes and make a child's life easier! ❤️

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