Tutoring center provides useful learning space for students

After sixth period on Oct. 11, junior Sanmati Nakil headed to the tutoring center to meet with her tutee, sophomore Hermione Bossolina. She chose a table at the back of the tutoring center, grabbed a whiteboard and marker and prepared to teach Chemistry Honors. There were few people in the center, making it a warm, studious environment for them to focus.

Nakil meets with Bossolina twice a week for about one hour each session. Bossolina appreciates the help with a difficult class, and Nakil said that it is a “cool way to get volunteer hours.”

Since the 2016-17 school year, the center’s first year at the school, the tutoring center staff has distributed tutor sign-up sheets to encourage students to help their peers, tutoring center coordinator Sunita Bal said.

“We want to give the opportunity to all students, regardless of the ones that visit [the tutoring center], to be able to help another student or get help,” Bal said. “I think it’s a good way to reach out and have students sign up.”

The tutoring center is located next to the research center and is part of the library building. It is open from 9:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. every school day. It was implemented on campus as an area for students to study collaboratively.

“It’s a place for students to get help from other students,” Bal said.

At tutorials, the center tends to be more loud and crowded. Some students play video games along the line of computers at one side of the room, and several others work together or socialize in groups. Because of this, most tutors meet with their tutees after school.

So far this school year, Bal said that she has paired six tutors with tutees, including Nakil and Bossolina. Several others get help for one particular quiz or test, but are not regular visitors at the center.

When students sign up to tutor, they write their name, subjects they want to tutor and time availability in a binder on Bal’s desk. A tutee does the same in a different binder, and Bal matches the two students together if their free times and subjects coincide. The tutor receives community service hours for tutoring at the center.

If the tutee needs to meet with their tutor outside of the tutoring center’s hours, then the tutor can choose to be paid. Bal pairs the students together, but the details of the scheduling and payment are ultimately up to the two students. Overall, Bal has found that the tutors are committed and willing to help.

Junior Claire Smerdon started to tutor at the center this school year. Bal said that Smerdon and Nakil are two of the most active tutors at the center.

Smerdon is able to tutor math up to the level of Precalculus Honors, but she currently tutors Algebra II. Similar to Nakil, she meets with her tutee once or twice a week for a total of approximately two hours.

Smerdon said that she decided to tutor because she enjoys math that she is already familiar with, and she has had previous experience in tutoring. It was also a way for her to give back to the community.

“I really love teaching, and it’s doing math that I already know,” she said. “It made sense for me to do it.”

Smerdon said that the tutoring center’s system of matching tutor and tutee brings together people that otherwise wouldn’t meet. She added that the center is helpful for students who need a place to focus during the school day, as it provides a comfortable learning environment.

The tutoring center also offers various testing books, such as SAT and ACT prep books, for students to check out. Bal said that the community donated their used books to the center.

Smerdon said that being a tutor does not only benefit the tutee, since both parties grow from the experience. She has learned different teaching methods and observed different students’ learning styles.

“I think tutoring is really special because it [connects] two people that have different strengths and weaknesses,” Smerdon said. “It’s really interesting to see how that comes together and how you can learn so much from it.”