working with children

[Raja]

Can anyone recommend volunteering experiences with children? I plan on becoming a pediatrician and want to start now. Earlier, someone mentioned working for the Dept of Social Services.. how does that work?

Also, has anyone volunteered for Big Brothers? I'm wondering what's involved in that..oh and what's Circle K?

thanks everyone.

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[Ai]

I am going to start tutoring children who live at a local women's shelter next week. If you're interested in how to get involved with something like this let me know

 

[deleted7807]

I have done lots of work with children and it is truly rewarding! Through my school, I have worked for a lot of tutoring programs and I also have worked in daycares for a couple of summers. Just keep your eyes open for volunteer opportunities - I bet if you even call the number for the mentor a child commercials you would be able to find some good organizations.

I only know a little bit about Circle K...I tried to join my freshman year because they seemed very community service oriented, but all I saw was a ton of talking and no work...perhaps that was just my chapter though.

 

[Raja]

Yes, I'm very interested in knowing the details on this. Are the children at the shelter orphans? What do you tutor them?

 

[USeF]

I'm sure there are lots of opportunities in the community if you look for them. By far my best experience was while I was on exchange in the U.K.

KEEN (Kids Enjoying Exercise Now) is a British organization dedicated to offering autistic, hyperactive or otherwise handicapped children an opportunity to participate in athletics by giving them 1-on-1 attention. Weekly sessions on Saturday consisted of young ones in the morning and teens/adults in the afternoon. Still remember the first kid I was paired up with: both hyperactive and autistic, I spent the two hours wrestling with him and chasing him around, all the while laughing and rolling around like a kid myself. I could only imagine the Brits thinking "silly American, can't even get a kid to sit still for 1 minute" Turned out no previous college student could keep up with him.

These activities are personally very rewarding (as they are for the children), something that softens your heart and helps one become that caring, compassionate person a doc is supposed to be. should've used that in an essay somewhere

 

[Raja]

KEEN, too, sounds awesome.. too bad it's only in Britain. I am not sure where to look for organizations like this.. so if you know of any in the U.S., please let me know.

 

[Dr. Kermit]

Raja- I worked at a summer day camp for children with either physical or emotional disabilities. I found this job by contacting my local children's hospital (Pittsburgh.) Through their network, they put me through to the Children's Institute which is a rehabilitation center for children with congenital impairments. Also, you can try contacting local schools for the blind, I know they are always looking for help. The final suggestion that I can offer is looking up a chapter of Big Brothers/Sisters. They'll try to pair college students with adolescents to give them a positive outlook on their future.

 

[Wednesday]

Have you looked into volunteering in a hospital playroom? I think most hospitals have them now. They're places for kids who are in the hospital to play (the one I worked in provided many more services, but playing is the basic idea). Usually run by a child-life specialist. It's a great way to interact with kids, their parents and their doctors and nurses. You get to see some of the diseases pediatricians see and how the kids and their families deal with it. It was the best clinical experience I had.

 

[IlliniEMT1]

I was able to find the opportunity to volunteer at a local daycare, through a volunteer org at my school and it was a very good experience. Basically we just helped out the teachers, and played with or read to the kids.
I have a friend that helps tutor grade-school children- i think it is through the america reads program, but i dont know much about it.
Also I had the opportunity to shadow an EM/Peds doc for a couple weeks- which was probably the biggest influence in my decision to go into peds.

 

[Jalopycat]

I work for my county's CPS office investigating child abuse. We are always hiring college students to help us supervise parent-child visits or transporting kids to appointments when their foster parents can't. If you really want to work with kids, this is a great, realistic experience. You could probably find out if this is available by just calling your area child abuse office.

 

[Premed2003]

Hi,

I'm not able to start a new thread (I keep getting an error message...is anyone else getting an error message too?), so I am restoring this old thread hoping to get some responses.

I'm going to be tutoring a high school student. I live in a suburban area (pretty afluent, but not extremely so). How much do you think I could charge per hour?

I'm doing this as a favor for the student. A former teacher of mine asked me to tutor this student because she's struggling in science, so I'm doing this on top of all my other stuff this summer. I'm not sure what would be a reasonable price.

Thanks!!

 

[jot]

40 at least ... fomr my experience its not unreasonable unless there are other circumstances. i used to tutor highschool kids for 50/hour, thats what their parents offered, i never even had to ask (4 of them). more spare cash for free base :wink: .

-jot

 

[naya]

During the summer months I volunteered at a year round school whose student population was 90% second language learners. I assisted the students with reading and writing tasks. The students were extremely appreciative and I gained valuable insight into numerous cultural groups. I also tutored a student diagnosed with learning disabilities. By sixth grade he was turned off to school and lived in and out of juvenile hall. One summer I volunteered at a genetics clinic and shadowed a geneticist at a local children's hospital. This experience gave me an insight into how a child's health care needs affected them as well as the entire family. It also to 'put a face' to diseases I had studied in textbooks.

 

[simpleG]

Regarding your question and some talk about CPS.

I am very involved in a national organization called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) also known as GAL in some regions of the country. You are paired with a child who is a dependant of the court, usually he or she has been neglected and abused and would be living at a foster home, group home, or at some stage along reunification with the parents. I really like this program because you're not only a mentor. You're also an advocate for the child in court. These kids don't really have anyone looking out for them, the social workers have 60 cases, the judges don't know anything about the kid, and it's your job as a CASA to be the eyes and ears of the court. I attended parent/teacher conferences, therapist sessions, etc. I made recommendations to the judge on how to best meet my child's needs. As a court appointed worker, you have more power and influence than just a mentor. I worked to move my kid to a special day school where his needs were better met. Without CASAs, a lot of these kids continue being neglected at the hands of the court system.

Find your local CASA program and volunteer, it's very rewarding.

 

[simpleG]

just an addition,

i'm sure it's not a majority, but a few comments scattered throughout the forum make it seem like a few people are doing things simply to look good for medical schools. i acknowledge that some things look good on the application, but it definitely shouldn't be a driving force deciding what you want to do. i'm not accusing anybody though...

i guess i'm just saying, in relation to my post about being a CASA, that don't jump into it, and not be really into it, because the kid's dealt with enough abandonment in his life...

 

[Biffer]

raja,
where do you go to school? your community plays a large role in the oppurtunities available. If you are from philly, I can be of great assistance. I am co chair of a mentoring group on campus--we are not affiliated with any national groups and our beginings were entirely student run. If you feel that the volunteering opps in your area are not meeting your expectations, start your own group with a partner elementary/middle school.. they should go for it if you have decent proposal. I have found mentoring to be an invaluable experience that has definitley been a great part of my undergrad experience. also, for everyone, try <a href="http://www.volunteermatch.com" target="_blank">www.volunteermatch.com</a>

peace,
biff

 

[rajneel1]

CASA is cool. A big committment however! How about internships at your college that work with children like tutoring or introducing science or being a teaching assistant?

 

[CoffeeCat]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by gabe922:
•just an addition,

i'm sure it's not a majority, but a few comments scattered throughout the forum make it seem like a few people are doing things simply to look good for medical schools. i acknowledge that some things look good on the application, but it definitely shouldn't be a driving force deciding what you want to do. i'm not accusing anybody though...

i guess i'm just saying, in relation to my post about being a CASA, that don't jump into it, and not be really into it, because the kid's dealt with enough abandonment in his life...•••••I agree, CASA is amazing. I worked as an intern in the office for a year, but didn't volunteer with the kids because I knew I'd be around for only a year, and didn't want to disappoint these kids. I've read a lot of their files and you'd be amazed at what they go through. If you're going to be around a year + though, check it out.