Thing 22... Volunteering

I completed a course middle of the year in ‘Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector 7303’. It was a course recommended by my librarian that she had done some years previous, but I had looked at doing something along those lines, due to noticing that library work isn’t just about sourcing things for people, we teach them how to source for themselves.

From finishing the course, you have an end of learning interview, where you are asked what you are going to do next. The next step for me was to take the next course, but unfortunately I had limited funds and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pay for more courses, if in a few months down the line I changed my mind and didn’t like teaching! My tutor mentioned that the education department were taken on volunteers for ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) and this would be good experience in been in an learning environment from other side of the desk, and would only take a couple of hours out of my week. I jumped at the chance! So, I now volunteer at the local education centre in a drop-in centre where the education department put on a coffee morning for their students to come along, practice their English and pick up new words in a non-structured environment. It is a good experience for me as it allows me to step into a mentoring role slowly, under no pressure and the students get to talk to a new face with a different local accent, where different words are used! I am able to bring experience from my library job, such as the group want to start a reading group to get conversations and debates going. I already mentor library orderlies, so I have experience of listening and advising, plus patience plays a great part along with humour in helping a person develop themselves

I think volunteering is a brilliant idea. My role is run by volunteers who wish to work in a teaching environment. It began with volunteers and will always be run by volunteers. It is a good way to gain experience to develop a career or to just get back into routine if a person has been out of the job market for a while.  To give a little of your time to benefit a person who is keen and wants to get along in life is a great confidence booster and a sense of purpose can only be a good thing!