In an effort to provide additional help for struggling students or students who have fallen behind, administrators have adopted a number of tutoring options this year.
The tutoring programs will focus on making sure all students- from the calculus students to the ninth grade English students- feel that they are welcome and that they may be helped by tutoring sessions.
Tutoring is offered on Mondays for biology, Tuesdays for math and language arts, and Thursday for Spanish, French and chemistry. For additional help there is also time for quiet studying in the library on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays all from 2:30-4p.m. and Wednesdays from 3:45-4:45p.m.
Tutoring has been proven to be exceedingly helpful to students and teachers alike. Students come in for questions they have on homework or other activities and can be out of the class in fewer than five minutes. But why don’t students use this?
“Some students tell me that tutoring is for the kids who get D’s and F’s, and it’s not. It’s not just for those students, it’s for everybody,” Vice Principal Erin McKee said. “I think some students are afraid of feeling like they’re not smart. I really want to eliminate that myth. Tutoring is for everybody. We all have questions about new things and we’re all learning new things.”
“A lot of students are afraid to ask questions in class but aren’t afraid to talk one on one, and so they can come in and ask questions and they feel like they get some private help, because they don’t want to look stupid,” math teacher Ron Thruelsen said.
There are many reasons why students cannot make it to tutoring.
“It’s also hard for athletes to get to tutoring, because they have practice right away but sometimes there’s a gap like 30 minutes and they can use that time to check in with the Spanish teacher or check in with the chemistry teacher really quick on just one or two things,” McKee said.
“I have benefited because the class is a lot smaller and there’s more one on one,” junior Jenafer Johanson said.