Second Time Around | Arjun Goyal

During my most recent visit to KIPP Heartwood, I was placed in the fourth grade math class to tutor kids on integer manipulation. When I arrived, I was surprised to see Daniel, a kid who I had helped last year. I was even more surprised when he recognized me. Daniel is shy, but also pretty coy. He tries to find shortcuts, both to finish the problem more quickly and to get out of more work,  has no problem interrupting his working friends to squeeze in a joke, and smiles tacitly when he finally gets a problem. This occasion was the first time that I was able to tutor the same student more than once, and it was amazing to see his progress. After a brief refresher, he breezed through material he once found difficult. I was impressed and happy for him. After the two-hour session, Daniel and I fist-bumped (with an explosion, of course) and waved goodbye. Experiences like these are the reason I love going to KIPP.