Tutoring

NHS Tutoring: An Under-Utilized

Student Resource

More by Chris Janson - 11/11

Public service announcement: Darien High School's chapter of the National Honor Society offers free afterschool peer-to-peer tutoring.

Continuing an old program, two NHS members will be present in the Math Learning Connections Room from 2:30 to 3:30 every Tuesday to answer any Math/Science-related questions that students may have. New to NHS tutoring this year will be an English/History tutoring component: tutors will be available in the English LCR Thursdays, 2:30 to 3:30, to provide writing help of any kind.

Math/Science Tutoring: A Well Kept Secret?

NHS has been providing organized Math/Science tutoring since the 2005 move into the new High School. Mr. Otterspoor, who serves as the faculty advisor for NHS, speaks very highly of the program and the students who run it.

Mr. Otterspoor sees multiple advantages to peer tutoring.

It's great to have a different way for students to get help, especially when they're too nervous to ask their own teacher, or understand how their teachers explain certain topics."

He also has serious faith in the students doing the tutoring.

"Sometimes," he explains, "they know how to help kids better than the teachers because they know what you need to know for a given class—what information is important and where the curriculum is going."

NHS members have taken some of the hardest classes at the school, from AP Biology and Chemistry to BC Calculus to Honors Physics. Most should be able to explain basic math and science principles as well as the higher level material fresh in their minds from junior year.

Unfortunately, students don't always take advantage of this accessible academic recourse. On a good day, NHS tutors will get questions from a couple of kids. Just as often, no one will show up.

This year's Math/Science Tutoring Student Coordinator, senior Michael Palmer, hopes students won't be "intimidated" by senior tutors and encourages all to stop by.

"We're really here for students," he says, "to provide whatever help they need."

English Tutoring: Reviving an Old Resource

While the move to the new DHS was great for Math and Science tutoring, it dealt a deathblow to a once-strong tradition of student writing tutoring.

In the early 80s, current English Department Chair Mr. Paulsen developed the Advanced Composition course to train students to tutor writing.

"For at least 15 years," he tells me, students manned a "Student Writing Center that operated throughout the day."

Any time students had a free period, they could stop by this special office and discuss their pieces of writing with a trained student tutor. Often times, Mr. Paulsen explains, teachers would "build the center into assignments," requiring their students to talk over ideas for an essay with a tutor before starting.

This center was very successful during its heyday. However, in the nineties, enrollment began to shrink and the position of Writing Center Coordinator was taken out of the school budget. Without a faculty member paid specifically to organize this service, Mr. Paulsen says "it was hard to maintain [the program's] integrity, and it eventually had to stop."

Mr. Paulsen and the English department have made a couple attempts to revive this old service. The Advanced Composition class that prepared tutors is still offered at the high school. There are definitely students capable of tutoring writing at the High School, but no infrastructure has yet been developed for them.

This year, NHS is trying to lead the way in bringing this productive DHS tradition back. NHS members will be manning the English LCR one hour a week afterschool to help students with English and History papers in any stages, including prewriting, drafting, and editing/revising.

As Mr. Paulsen says, English tutoring is not a "drop off laundry service…The goal is to make better writers, not better papers." Don't expect a tutor to read through your essay, make some changes, and set you up for an easy A. Come ready to analyze your piece and do some serious thinking, and NHS tutors should help guide you to a better place with your piece. Not all of these tutors have had Advanced Composition training, but all will lend a friendly ear and try to make you more comfortable with your prompt.

This year's NHS English Tutoring Coordinator, senior Chris Janson, has some big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of successful professionals like Mr. Paulsen. Still, undaunted, he has high hopes for the program.

"It will take some time for the program to get off the ground, but once the word is out, hopefully students of all grades will take full advantage of it. It's a great place to come get help with English essays, Quarter Papers, DBQs, creative pieces and whatever else teachers assign."

This tutoring, Math/Science and English/History, is most definitely not just for Freshmen. Next time you're struggling in any class, consider giving these NHS students a visit. Even if they can't answer your specific question, chances are they will be able to direct you to the right student or teacher to ask.