When did Tutoring Club start?
So, Tutoring Club first started in the middle of the year last year. I had to talk to Mrs. Combs about it, and we just put it into progress there. We started actually talking about it pretty early on, but we couldn’t get it into place because there were a lot of forms I had to fill out, and we had to make and print out permission slips, and we had to do all of that background work.
Why did you want to start Tutoring Club?
It honestly just started when I realized I loved making study guides and teaching people. I was researching clubs and what I could do, and realized that I’m decently solid at teaching people, so then I thought, “What if we put that to use?” Originally, we didn’t know who we were going to teach, and then I was talking to Combs about it, and she suggested middle schoolers since they’re not too young, or too old, and it just worked out from there.
Who inspired you to start a club here at LHS?
Mrs. Combs was a huge help with starting the club. I’d say Alexa Lopez, Marissa Saengkeo, Natalie Hill, Aesha Patel and Emily Yanez were also a huge help. They were all by my side throughout all of this.
How do you think the first full year of Tutoring Club will go?
It’s been a good start so far. We’re already having some issues with the new members, but I think for the first year, we should be fine. We’re still figuring things out, and having a first full year gives us a lot of time to really figure that out. I want to have this set in stone by junior or senior year, so we can get more freshmen into the club so that way we can keep the club going.
Are there any benefits from participating in Tutoring Club?
So, there are a lot of benefits. For the tutor, you get service hours almost every single week, which is really nice. You also develop leadership skills because you’re teaching peers younger than you and, really, you’re helping our future generations. As for the student getting tutored, you’re getting help for free. Usually, online tutoring sites make you pay $25 per session, while Tutoring Club helps you for free. I believe it’s easier for them to learn from us because we’re in a similar age group and we also know what we’re talking about. I feel like they’re just a lot more comfortable talking to us than their teachers.
What are some things that students here at the high school or junior high should know about Tutoring Club?
It’s really easy to join. You just need to be eligible for Fast Friday, and you need to be responsible. A lot of people think that they can’t tutor other students, but you can. They’re middle schoolers, and some of them really do need our help, even with the fundamental things. Even if you can speak Spanish or another language, in general, you can easily help since there are a lot of ELL students. Whether you’re in honors or regular classes, you think you’re smart or not, anyone can join. They also don’t have to come every Fast Friday. If they don’t have the time, they can come every other Friday, which makes it very flexible.
Do you hope that in the years to come, Tutoring Club will continue to grow?
As for getting more members, I gave out about 30 forms, and we already had about 15 of them turned in, but I think there’s a good range to it. We cannot get Key Club size because that’s not manageable, but I feel like a good 20 to 30 members is all that we need. Along with that, we are also going to keep tutoring more people, but there is a limit. Since we go during Fast Fridays, there are people who don’t want to work anymore, and you can only go into certain classrooms since we don’t want to disturb the teachers. Because of the limited number of students we can tutor, we’re thinking of starting a YouTube channel to post stuff on there and tutor more people that way.
