Natallia Kastechka, an MA fellow in Education at the University of Minnesota from Belarus, volunteered as a teacher’s aide at Wellstone International High School in Minneapolis. Her job was to help students understand the main concepts that the teachers were discussing in their classes. Natallia was surprised at the large number of students in each classroom and the amount of help that many of the teachers needed. At Wellstone, many students speak English as a second or third language and Natallia felt that she was especially qualified to help those students understand the main concepts by explaining some things in a way that the American teacher would not have taught.
Natallia said of the experience, “Wellstone International High school is a very nice place. I was amazed by the warmth and friendliness I received there. The majority of students there are Somali, Latino, Chinese, and Hmong. Most of the teachers speak two languages. They also have counselors from those countries. For example, if teacher doesn't speak Somali or Chinese, counselors will come to the classroom and explain the main concepts in their native languages. The school does everything to make students feel welcome and comfortable at school. There are also some hours that teachers spend after school to help students if they have problems. For me it was one of the greatest experiences in my life. Teachers and students at Wellstone are from different countries, different cultural backgrounds, and they speak different languages, but they make it work. I realized no matter where you are from, if you do everything with compassion, sincerity, and understanding, diversity actually works for you and not against you. I hope that every Muskie fellow had such a pleasant experience from their volunteer work as I did. I have learned a lot from the teachers about how to educate students in English if that is not their first language and I will use a lot of their techniques in my work when I go back home."