Chemistry teacher Janny Cahatol’s brow furrows as she glances up at the long line of students beside her. It’s a Monday tutorial, and she wonders if she will be able to help each of her students in time.
Then the door swings open, and in walks senior Vivek Murthy, a member of the Helping Hands Club. Cahatol smiles with relief and speaks with him briefly before gesturing to two of her students. Soon they are huddled with Murthy around one of the lower tables, eagerly asking questions and nodding as he writes across a sheet of scratch paper.
The Helping Hands Club was founded by senior Rohit Rao and 2014 graduate Eric Taw in 2013 to provide students with assistance in any subject. Tutors meet every other Wednesday in room 410. The club uses an online form that allows students to request help, and from there, Rao assigns tutors.
To become a tutor, club officers must approve of a student’s grades in the subjects in which the student wants to tutor. In general, a student must have A- or higher to join the club.
The club’s 20 tutors are unpaid, but they receive volunteer hours for their work. This past year, approximately 30 forms have been filled out by students seeking help.
Rao and Taw officially formed the club after seeing Taw’s past experience and success as a tutor. Taw had tutored chemistry teacher Kathy Nakamatsu’s Chemistry Honors students through video chats the year before and had even mentored Rao, who was struggling in chemistry at the time. Rao valued the assistance he received and hoped to return the favor to others.
“There wasn’t any organization on campus that really catered to students who were struggling and wanted help,” Rao said. “I just felt, why should [students] need to pay [tutors] so much to get help? I felt like [support] was lacking on campus.”
Rao concluded that creating a system for students to help their peers would be more beneficial than hiring adult tutors.
“I felt that a person who has been through the class could help other students who may need a little more of a push,” Rao said.
The tutors have experimented with different systems and have picked up new ideas over the past two years. Last year, they asked teachers for test schedules so that during tutorials, they could visit the busier classes where students were scrambling to prepare for upcoming tests.
“A lot of people need help but don't necessarily want to ask teachers for the help,” said senior Randy Tsai, the club’s vice president. “They feel more comfortable asking other students for help, so that's what we're for.”
Club members offered more help in biology, chemistry and math classes because there was a higher demand for tutors in those subjects. Though they initially attempted to set up a peer editing system for essays, they “just didn’t feel comfortable changing the whole essay up,” as it could be construed as borderline plagiarism or cheating.
Currently, tutors still provide assistance during tutorials, but some tutors also stay with a specific set of students throughout the year to avoid having different tutors help the same student.
“[This way, a] tutor can see that student grow. [As a tutor,] you know where you left off, and you know where you can go back and help them more,” Rao said.
According to Rao, tutors tend to be the busiest in the beginning of the school year because students are anxious to raise their grades as the end of the six-week grading period approaches. During this time, Rao tutored for five to six hours a week, in contrast to the one or two hours he spends now.
The club takes care to prioritize its students and asks them what they would like to see in the tutoring system because “at the end of the day, it’s up to them.”
“If they’re not improving, then it doesn’t matter how much feedback I get, because it’s not a helpful club on campus,” Rao said.
Rao’s devotion to helping others extends beyond Saratoga High. He worked at the nearby tutoring center Brighter Future for eight months last year, assisting 6- to 12-year-olds with math.
With experience in tutoring kids of all ages, Rao noticed the change in learning between teens and young children. He found that elementary school students genuinely love to learn, whereas high school students seem to have lost passion in learning.
“I’m sure that if students were presented with the opportunity, they would pick up what they need to pick up,” Rao said. “But it’s not the same in terms of the interest they get from doing it. When students were in elementary school, learning was like the coolest thing ever.”
Still, whether Rao is teaching an elementary school student or a peer, he enjoys helping others find the “Aha!” moment in learning.
“It’s a really rewarding feeling when students understand finally what they’ve been struggling with for the past weeks or so,” Rao said.