Everyone has struggled with grades before, but each student has their own way of improving their grades. Most students attempt to study more and for extended periods of time, but sometimes people need further help in order to succeed.
Tutors help their students with their grades by helping them achieve a greater understanding of the materials in their classes. The Academic Support Center offers students tutoring support by giving students a number of resources to improve with.
“We have a number of peer tutors who come in the library either in the morning, 8:00 a.m. or after school at 3:15 p.m., and the students can come in and ask for help. Our tutors are our peer tutors who come from different grade levels,” said Jamie Abdilla, the coordinator for the Academic Support Center and a biotechnology teacher at Carlmont.
In-person peer tutors have many different ways of teaching, which help the students understand the concepts better, compared to the limits of online tutoring through Paper.
“Tutors help me by answering my questions. On top of that, if there’s just a subject I don’t know in general, they’ll take me through it step by step, and they’ll give me like a bunch of tips and tricks that’ll help me in class,” said Sanjna Sood, a junior at Carlmont.
Each tutor has a unique teaching style and often concentrates on the individual subject in need of improvement, aiding the student greatly.
“My math tutor has helped me understand more concepts in general. He also teaches in a way that changes math from a rigid subject to something you can apply to the real world and change according to the laws of math that you already know,” said Paul Zhou, a sophomore who has tutors for math and English.
While students reap what they sow, tutors also gain delight from teaching. Camille Ansel a junior, is one of the tutors who teaches French in the Academic Support center, and she enjoys spending time with other students.
“I often find myself lost, whether it be in certain topics or subjects, so helping others gain confidence in topics I do understand is very fun,” Ansel said.
Aside from the common goal students who work with tutors often have, some have different reasons for reaching out to tutors.
“The reason I got an AP Computer Science tutor and an AP Calculus BC tutor was because I missed a week of school and needed to catch up. I kept them afterward so I could learn ahead, so I’m basically moving faster than the school curriculum,” Sood said.
All in all, peer tutoring is a rewarding experience that benefits both students and tutors and is an excellent resource accessible to students.
“There’s really no harm from getting some extra assistance with any subject you may be a little unconfident on,” Ansel said.
