Listening before teaching

This episode profiles Bill Wolfe, a retired insurance professional who spent his retirement tutoring elementary students in Boston through Literations and the AARP Foundation’s Experience Corps. Bill has logged over 10,935 one-on-one tutoring hours and led nearly a hundred volunteer tutors at William Blackstone Elementary. The episode centers on a pivotal moment: a walk with a resistant second grader who confessed a sad conclusion about where his life was headed. Rather than pushing lessons, Bill listened,. The story shows how sustained presence, patience, and small acts of kindness are a way of life, and are worth it regardless of knowing the outcome.