Spring is here: Let's keep up the good work!

I hope you enjoyed this wonderful w-e and had a lovely holiday for those of you who celebrated Easter and/or Passover (Any other Holiday I am missing?).
I enjoyed reading your new posts and comments to each other. I would like to briefly go back to our class discussion on Friday about Deanna's "problematic" cases: one female student who is not responsive at all and whom the teacher seem to have given up on, and another girl who seems to be placing herself at risk in "conversation" with other students (boys) and even threats of physical violence. One of Deanna's questions was, why is it so hard/dangerous to tell (snitch)? In class, we talked about how hard it may be to find out information about students depending how much contact and time we have to spend with the classroom teacher. We discussed how hard it is to actually impact these students whom we feel may need help. However, we agreed that as tutors, we are in a somewhat less powerful but more informed position because these students may share with us information they would not share with another adult.
As I was driving home Friday, I heard the mayor of Newark, NJ on NPR, and I was reminded of our conversation. He has been working on improving the situations of impoverished children and families in Newark's schools. One of the things he said stuck with me as it relates directly to the work that you are doing this semester. I am trying to repeat it in my own words here:
"Some children and students in our city' schools are in great need of attention. They are at risk of failing/dropping out due to the lack of resources, parent's involvement, absent parents, poverty, etc. Yet, research shows that it only takes four hours a month for a motivated adult (not necessarily the child's teacher) to spend with one of these children to TURN THEIR LIFE AROUND."
We spoke about establishing trust on Friday which is a first step (Please read Amy S's latest post!) and a hard one, which becomes harder as the students gets older. However, it it possible!
The time you invest, the attention you give makes a difference in the life of students. So to go back to Deanna, if a student confides into you information that seems dangerous, it is important for you to tell them exactly what you think and why, and show you care, whether you can address the case, or the "non-snitching."
I look forward to reading more as the semester moves on. If you have completed your 15/25 hours, you need to look at all your posts and comments and make sure you match the requirements for our course (see syllabus for prompts to be addressed and # of posts and comments). I also look forward to your midterm presentations Friday!