I was a volunteer tutor (English Comp) when I was in college, and by far my best tutee was a Vietnamese guy who was majoring in math - brilliant kid - but weak, understandably, in English.I lived in downtown San Jose, California during the early 1980's, when the area was engulfed by Vietnamese war refugees. Most were desperately poor. They were also good people. They took any job they could find, saved their money, and started Vietnamese restaurants I dined in and Vietnamese shops I shopped at.
Vietnamese teenagers did not spend their days harassing their teachers. They respected their teachers, and tried to learn, although many could not understand much English. They did not spend their nights getting into trouble. They did their homework.
I often got off work at 10:00 pm, and walked three miles through what was becoming Little Saigon. I was perfectly safe.
If I tried that where I live now I would risk my life.
It was a joy to work with him. He really wanted to master the language, and followed through on every assignment. He knew I was volunteering my time, of course, and thanked me after each session. And he was so respectful!
I remember one time I had to cancel a session because I was cramming for my own exam. Instead of saying, OK…see you next week…he asked if we could find another time THIS week after my exam. He didn’t want to miss out on any learning.
The other tutees were black, and they were not as dedicated.