Thus far, not a single student has RSVPed about the May 20 meeting. I'm beginning to think that my brothers and certain blog commenters are right: asking high schoolers to volunteer for this sort of work (i.e., helping me plan my upcoming walk) may be asking too much. I'd rather not believe that; most of the students I tutor are sharp, motivated, and creative. Some even have quite an activist bent. Why wouldn't that demographic want to help out with a project like this?
Part of the answer is, I suspect, timing: summer's coming soon, and students are thinking about vacation. Volunteering for a massive project now, when the year is effectively coming to an end, may simply feel like more work to the kids. I also heard from one student that his mother won't allow him to participate. This makes sense: many of those sharp, motivated, creative kids are being told by their parents to keep their focus on their studies; anything else is a mere diversion. (Tiger Mother, anyone? No drama class, no sports, and no musical instruments other than violin and piano!)
Unless someone pipes up this week-- a few someones would be better-- I may just scrap the May 20 meeting and try this again in September. Stay tuned.
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Marathon
12 years ago
1 comment:
I think it would be better to concentrate on getting volunteers during the school year and by directing messages to school organizations with community service requirements. Actually target a school and a club for electronic contact to the club sponsor. High schoolers lack focus all in all, thus a targeted approach might illicit the response you see.
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