DEMI JONES
Staff Writer
How do you spend your Monday evenings? Sitting on icy metal seats in a musty and freezing cafeteria? Working with a convicted minor with an elementary-school reading level? For 26 Pepperdine students the answer is yes.
Every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Pepperdine students drive to Camp David Gonzales to tutor minors in reading. This project focuses on the concept that minors who are convicted and learn to read are less likely to be arrested or put in jail again.
This is a student-run program, with the assistance of Dr. Jon Johnston, a professor in the Social Sciences, as an overseer and the partnership of Warner Bros. Co. The program is geared toward students in the Juvenile Delinquency course, who are required to attend the camp for one credit, but it is open to anyone who is interested. Warner Bros. provides the reading material used by the tutors such as textbooks, magazines and free reading books.
The Los Angeles Probation Department provides juvenile camps such as Camp David to offer offending minors secure detention and rehabilitation and is located through the canyon in Calabasas.
Jenna Godfrey, the student coordinator, has participated for four years and believes it serves as a way for students to familiarize themselves with the California juvenile justice system.
“[Tutors] learn the strengths and weaknesses,” Godfrey stated. “It gives [them] perspectives on things that need to change.”
But this course is not just about criminal justice. It is also a way for Pepperdine students to contribute to their community.
“I like Pepperdine’s idea that ‘Knowledge breeds service,’” Godfrey said. We have the gift of going to Pepperdine and we should share that gift. The guys are caught off guard when they find out [the tutors] aren’t being paid.”
Senior Savannah Overton, another student tutor returning from last semester, agrees.
“I wanted to get really involved,” Overton said. “There is a time in your life where you realize you could be doing so much more.”
Before meeting with the minors, the students undergo a three-hour training session. First they learn all the necessary safety precautions, such as wearing loose clothing, and leaving valuables in the car. It is also important for the tutors to learn how to handle different situations, such as statements or actions that may make the tutors uncomfortable, with their minors. They also learn how to teach with the five step reading method and how to use the Warner Bros textbooks.
For the minors, they are there because they want to be and have worked hard to get into the program.
“We try to pick the good kids,” said Officer Sears, the deputy probation officer. “It’s a privilege to come to this program.”
John (not his real name), a minor who participated last semester chose to do it again this semester after forming a close bond with Overton who was his primary tutor.
“She motivates me to do something and keep trying and to accomplish something,” John proclaimed. “[She] helps me release my stress.”
John was also thrilled to report he has recently received his high school diploma.
“The diploma rocked my world,” said Overton. “I can’t put into words how amazing that is.”
Forming such a close bond was not without difficulties, Overton confessed. She admitted that it takes a while to warm up to each other and get to that point.
“It’s kind of scary for tutors when they first come,” Godfrey added. “Once they break down barriers it’s almost like a friend.”
But breaking down barriers is not the only thing the tutors have to overcome. There are communication issues and often the tutors and their minors have completely different cultures and values.
One such difficulty is the language barrier, because most of the students are Hispanic and their first language is not English. The minors have to use dictionaries to translate before they can improve their reading.
“It’s unbelievably frustrating,” Godfrey claimed. “It’s something you and I take for granted.”
Overton and Godfrey also believe some minors’ reactions are hard for their tutors.
“It’s hard when they say they are not going to change,” Overton said. “And after hearing their stories I still don’t know whether I would trust them or not.”
“The worst part is seeing your minor come back,” Godfrey added, meaning seeing a minor come back to the camp after being released.
Sometimes even the rewards are hard.
When asked what the hardest part is for him, John bluntly replied: “The goodbye.”
Godfrey agrees.
“Even though you’re sad when they leave, it’s kind of a selfish feeling,” she admitted. “I tell my tutors it’s always a good thing to not see your minors again.”
Among all the obstacles, the tutors also get some great experiences.
“A lot of the tutors are the same age as the kids,” mused Officer Sears. “It’s a good experience with both. I think the tutors grow a lot.”
One interesting moment Overton experienced was receiving a birthday card from one of her minors.
“I was just floored,” she said. “You don’t expect that.”
Through the good times and the bad, Godfrey hopes to inspire the kids.
“Seeing the minors leave,” Godfrey said, “you feel they can start anew. They have new hope.”
One way of providing hope is by having the guys read “Always Running” by Luis Rodriguez, a former inmate of Camp David. “Always Running” is a memoir about Rodriguez’s experiences with gang culture in LA and how he learned to overcome it through education.
Overton is also a firm believer that hope is one the most important things the tutors can bring to their minors.
“If we can’t offer them hope” Overton asked, “what are we doing?”
04-23-2007
