Pete is a secondary teacher and volunteer tutor.
For him, tutoring is about levelling the playing field for all kids.
Pete recently moved to Sydney to be closer to his son.
He originally studied a Bachelor of Sport and Outdoor Education and Secondary Teaching, which he says has been a big influence on his tutoring experience.
“I love the outdoors and being fit,” he says. “And also helping people. I think it’s important to empower the youth of the next generation.
“Helping other people adds richness to our own lives as well.”
Pete started volunteering with Weave’s Tutoring Program in 2020, and has stayed connected despite some disruption from COVID-19.
“I found out about Weave when I first moved to Sydney,” he explains. “One of my peers said there’s plenty of tutoring in the Eastern Suburbs, so I was looking into that.
“But then when Corona happened, I stopped and thought — all these kids in affluent areas can pay $70 an hour for their tutoring, but what about other kids who can’t afford that?
“Every student should be able to have great teachers and be able to achieve awesome results. I don’t want to be paid by kids who have access to all these things, and forget to think about those who don’t.”
– Pete believes every student should have great teachers.
“Each student’s motivation to learn is the same,” he continues. “But their means to achieve it are vastly different. It made me stop and think about my motivation for teaching. I’m a firm believer in public education, and if those kids want to do more, they need more people to get around them.”
For Pete, a big advantage of the Tutoring Program is the opportunity to spend consistent time with one student rather than a whole classroom.
“I like the continuity of working with one student,” he says. “And I felt very welcomed by Denise especially, to know how appreciative she and the family were. She was able to accommodate my availability and paired me up with someone she thought would be a good match.”
“It sounds cliched, but the joy of the student getting better and wanting to come back is huge.
“If I’ve helped make one element of literacy or numeracy easier for my student, then that’s one hurdle less for that kid to jump over,” he says.
“Some of the benefits might not be seen by myself, but if he’s more focused in class, or more confident in reading, that’s a huge benefit, and that’s something that I’m constantly thinking about.”