A mentoring program named Eye To Eye will help undergraduates interact with eight grade students who possess similar learning difficulties in an effort to enhance the younger students' self-esteem and encourage them to positively express themselves.
The program, which began at Brown University, states that its main goal is to use art to allow students to express any feelings of frustration they may have.
Working with students from Richmond Middle School in Hanover, Dartmouth undergraduates who have similar learning disabilities expressed understanding for the eighth graders' situations.
"I really had a hard time in middle school," Eye to Eye volunteer Erica Feinman '08 said. "It was hard getting a grasp on having a learning disability.
"They feel like they're outcasts and below everything, so we try to help them find a voice to be vocal,"
Sarah Isbey '08 helped create a Dartmouth chapter of Eye To Eye her freshman year and has chaired the program for two years.
"I became interested because I had a learning disability and I thought I could really help these kids," Isbey said.
Isbey said her experience in middle school was shaped by having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Years of blurting out answers in class and having difficulty coping with teachers that were not understanding allowed her to easily bond and work with the middle school students, she said.
The program requires a commitment of six weeks in which students visit the middle school once a week to complete an art activity or project. Volunteers also spend time at local libraries with the students to provide tutoring or to socialize.
"It's not a huge time commitment but the kids still get so much out of it," Isbey said.
Many students at Dartmouth may not want to admit to the possession of a learning disability, however, Isbey said.
"It's a challenge finding the people but we get volunteers to open up and talk about their learning disability," Isbey said. "I can have a lot of people on campus know I have a learning disability."
Eye To Eye will start this year's activities after its first meeting on Oct. 15.
