The Mentor/Tutor Internship Program, better known as MTI@URI, was founded 17 years ago in order to give URI students the chance to mentor primary and secondary public school students. This rewarding program challenges its participants to succeed as teachers and mentors in a real-life school setting.
Students don’t need any prior experience to get involved, but initiative and leadership qualities, as well as a passion to teach, are preferred. Knowing all of the important aspects about what it means to be a teacher is important if you plan on going into education, and the experiences this program will give you transcend what you will learn by simply attending your regular classes.
Nathan Daigneault, the student director of the program, could attest to the crucial exposure the program provides. “There is so much more to ‘teaching’ than what most students are aware of,” he said. “If you’re serious about becoming a teacher, this program can really show you what it’s actually all about and how it’s changed since we were kids.”
The differences a person can make, not just in their own life but in the life of another person, are monumental. This is evident when mentoring at an underfunded, public elementary school, because you may be able to give young students something they usually don’t receive, whether it be an accommodating learning environment or the encouragement to achieve their goals.
The program may also inspire participants into taking charge and bettering the American education system. Daigneault said the problems that we come across when faced with the truth about educational policy. He added that students involved in the program attempt to redefine the U.S. education system as we know it into a more effective, fruitful one. The U.S. rankings in math and science proficiency are staggeringly low compared to other developed nations, and the economy is suffering because of these statistics according to an article published by the Pew Research Center in February.
“What we teach in grade school are not the skills you need in college, and the skills we teach in college are not the skills you need in the real world,†Daigneault said. “The skills gap is a very real phenomenon and it didn’t appear out of thin air.”
The way children are taught is crucial, and the opportunities these children receive are equally as important. Even if you’re not interested in teaching, but you still want to make a difference in local education, there are fundraising events that the MTI@URI program hosts every year in order to improve the education of children in impoverished school districts.
Daigneault said the most rewarding experience he has had thus far was being able to raise enough money to buy the entire student body of Asa Messer in Providence a summer reading book. Seeing the smiles on the children’s faces when they were given their books was icing on the cake for him.
For the children who truly want to learn, lending a hand at these schools can strengthen their development as avid learners and as people.
“This program is a real life chance to make a difference in a child’s life,” Daigneault said. “[It can also] be an opportunity for students to have their perspectives change about public education, but only if you take it seriously and take pride in what you do.”