SAN ANTONIO – When 8th-grade student Ethan Guan isn’t working on his math homework, he is helping other students around San Antonio with theirs.
As the president of San Antonio Math Include (SAMI), Guan wants to ensure that every student, regardless of their background, can find fun in math.
“Knowing equations doesn’t just help you solve that question, but also using your critical thinking skills on that one problem can really benefit your success,” Guan said.
SAMI is a nonprofit run for students by students in town, helping kids from elementary through middle school get free tutoring with their math work in class. Student tutors will help other students in person, over Zoom, and on YouTube.
“A lot of people make really small mistakes, but that small mistake can really impact your entire work way and steps that you solve to get your solution,” he said.
Guan says that as a child of an immigrant household, he understands that many students can struggle with math because of their reading comprehension skills.
Dr. Deborah Valdez, a former teacher and Director of the San Antonio Youth Literacy nonprofit, agrees with this.
“If kids don’t know how to read, then by the end of second grade, the beginning of third grade, they’re not going to progress in the curriculum,” Valdez said. “I want you to take a moment and think about where would you be if you couldn’t read. You can feel your mind take a pause when somebody asks you that question”.
San Antonio Youth Literacy is a nonprofit that helps more than 500 kids in San Antonio schools build their reading comprehension skills and confidence in school. Reading buddies, volunteers who commit to a year’s worth of lessons, visit a student once a week at school and help read to them.
