Peer tutors that help students in the classrooms succeed or a tremendous help to students and teachers.Junior Patricia Ortiz helps a student who is struggling on sentence fragments. Photo by: Haylee Schuh
By Haylee Schuh
Everyone somewhere along the way in his/her education will need assistance or help with something they struggle with. The person that helps everyone is usually admired and a leader among peers. Peer Tutors encourage students to do their homework the right way instead of the wrong way.
Most students think that tutors help their peers in an act of charity or for academic purposes, but really it means much more to them. Senior Taylor Schuh said, “I peer tutor because I like helping people and knowing that you were part of the reason for helping a student be successful is an awesome accomplishment.” Junior Patricia Ortiz- Corona said, “I peer tutor because I know that I can help students with classes in which I am good at. Plus it is like a study hall and I get credit. The benefit of peer tutoring is that I get to help others and I get a credit for it.” Whether students are tutoring for credit or for the success of others, it is an immense accomplishment.
Helping someone understand something can be difficult at times because everyone can perceive and learn things differently. It can become overbearing to learn something when students are frustrated or feel like giving up. As peer tutors they take the extra mile to help individuals learn the concepts of what they are learning. Ortiz-Corona said, “Sometimes I feel that the students I’m helping do not get it so I try to say it in a way that they understand or give an example.” While Schuh said, “I have had students still struggle with subjects even after I try to help them. I usually go a step further and get with their teacher to see what I can do to help them be successful.” This should be very reassuring to the student body that there is no reason to distrust or feel embarrassed by having a peer help them. Instead be assured they are interested in the success of others without judgement.
It is always good to befriend and interact with other people and personalities than students’ own clique of friends. A lot of peer tutors meet new people everyday and learn more about others through this learning experience. Schuh said, “It does bring me closer to students after I have helped them. I feel like if I wouldn’t of taken peer tutoring on, I wouldn’t of had the opportunity to meet the kids I’ve became friends with.” On the other hand,Ortiz-Corona said, “I definitely think that helping them has brought us closer together. There are students that I would have never spoken to, but now we talk and we even sit together at lunch.” Tutoring does not just help with achieving excellence in the class rooms, but it creates lasting relationships among peers.
Most students want to succeed in the classroom, but they do not know how to study or prepare for tests. When tutors help students, they hope their studying skills rub off on their peers. Ortiz-Corona shared her important studying tip when she said, “I think that students really need to read the material as well as take good notes. Overall, they need to pay attention to the teacher and if the teacher emphasizes something, then write it down because it will surely be on the test. Taking good notes is very important because they will help you study for the test.”
While tutors continue to work with peers to help them reach understanding and success, students are also learning that school is about forming lasting relationships along the way.