High school can be a difficult road to navigate for many students, and schools throughout Carlsbad Unified School District are responding to this issue by offering a peer tutoring program. The introduction of peer tutoring is an attempt to support students and improve their academic careers while creating an improved learning environment.
For some students, asking a teacher for help can be scary and demotivating. Ron Anderson, the lead teacher of the peer tutoring program, explains how one of the goals of peer tutoring is to provide a safe area where all ideas and questions are welcome.
“I think we realize that sometimes students are kind of hesitant to work with their particular teachers on a particular thing,” Anderson said. “So we know that one of the best things you can do is work with somebody… to try to get help or assistance on an issue might be having their understanding. So we find that it’s really nice if you can get a peer to do that for you.”
For some people, peer tutoring may work better than having an adult tutor. In peer tutoring, both the tutor and the student are learning similar material, which allows for a deeper connection and better understanding of the subject. Senior Angela Huang has had first-hand experience with peer tutoring and the connection that can form between both students.
“Honestly, have some patience and a lot of empathy, because while you might get a subject and you might think something is easy for you,” Huang said. “…you have to realize, not everyone’s minds work the same, sometimes I get frustrated, but then I have to realize they’re here for a reason and you’re here to teach them for a reason.”
Peer tutoring is truly for the benefit of the student, with the tutor there to guide them in their journey. Sophomore peer tutor Rebecca Berke believes students should only become a peer tutor if they have a passion for helping their peers learn.
“I would just say make sure you know what you’re doing so you don’t confuse whoever you’re tutoring, and make sure you actually want to help them and you’re not just doing it because you have to,” Berke said.
While the idea of peer tutoring may be unsettling and embarrassing to the student, senior Demetrios Dresios who has been peer tutoring for four years thinks otherwise. He believes that having a peer tutor is motivating.
“When kids come into tutoring they are mostly self motivated and it’s awesome to see,” Demetrios Dresios said. “They want to improve their grades and all that, just making sure the motivation can be put to good use like learning those foundational skills.”
One challenge that peer tutors face is trying to adjust to each student’s learning style. Demetrios Dresios knows that not every student learns the same way and sometimes people need to tweak certain concepts to make things work.
“I feel like when it comes to learning styles, it is important to just have a conversation with the student, instead of just lecturing them,” Demetrios Dresios said. “This allows them to express what they really need and then you can address those needs.”
Demetrios Dresios believes communication is a good way to adjust to different learning styles. Senior peer tutor Marianthe Dresios also speaks on how she thinks this problem can be addressed.
“I’d say asking a student to explain something to you first or asking them to do what they can do or what they’ve already learned…and then finding where the gaps in knowledge are and then addressing those gaps,” Marianthe Dresios said. “I think anything can be addressed with clear communication.”
Anderson mentions that once the challenges of peer tutoring have been worked out, the benefits are amazing. He says that tutoring can be beneficial and can lead to many more opportunities for both the tutor and the student.
“So tutoring, it opens those doors,” Anderson said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, I never thought about it that way.’ And here you’ll see something you never saw when you were studying it before. And it can be an eye opener.”
Marianthe Dresios also talks similarly about the benefits of peer tutoring. Being a peer tutor herself, she has had first-hand experience seeing students succeed from tutoring.
“It’s honestly really rewarding because you get to see people gain confidence in themselves and gain understanding of material that maybe wasn’t explained so well in class,” Marianthe Dresios said.
