As the year progresses, several seniors who are members of National Honor Society step up to help younger students succeed by offering their time and knowledge as tutors in a variety of subjects.
Senior Camille Krug is confident in helping students with most of their core classes, especially science.
“I could be a good tutor for anyone in the basic core classes,” Krug said. “I would say science is definitely my strong point, but I think I could tutor in anything, unless it’s really hard math, then I might struggle with that, but anything else I feel like I’d be good.”
According to Krug, her tutoring approach focuses on understanding each student’s learning style and helping them grasp the process behind their work.
“My approach for it would just be to see how they learn the best and go off with that,” Krug said. “I think I’ve been told that I’m really good at explaining things to people, so I just really make sure that they understand the process instead of just going through the motions and getting the right answer.”
Senior Samarra Wertz’s tutoring strengths lie more in the English category.
“My specialty is English and writing, and I feel like I’m a good tutor because I’m very knowledgeable,” Wertz said. I’m also very patient, I’m good at teaching and being patient with kids who need a little extra help.”
She added that flexibility is an important part of being an effective tutor.
“I’m very flexible, depending on what the student might need, and I’m willing to accommodate for each student and figure out new techniques for whatever they might need,” Wertz said.
For senior Melissa Krainer, helping others comes naturally, especially in math and science.
“I do enjoy helping people if they’re struggling with something,” Krainer said. “I think my specialty would be math and science because I took calculus two years ago. I can help people that are going through that right now. I also helped with algebra and chemistry.”
Krainer said her tutoring sessions are focused on identifying problem areas and walking students through their notes and examples.
“My approach would be to have them show me what they’re doing and then explain to me what they’re struggling with, what exactly they don’t understand,” Krainer said. “Then I’ll try to go with the notes that the teacher gave them and try to explain along those lines, do some examples of them and then have them try it and see if they understood.”
According to Honors Society adviser Deidra Dumm, who oversees the tutoring program, being a good tutor takes more than just subject knowledge.
“They have to be knowledgeable about the content, they should be able to listen and not necessarily teach, but maybe be able to provide some guidance for the students, and just be kind to them,” Dumm said. “There’s someone that’s coming to them asking for help, so realizing that they should just be nice and try to help them the best they can is what makes a good tutor.”
Dumm said Krug, Wertz and Krainer each embody the qualities of great tutors.
“All three of those ladies are phenomenal in every single one of those areas,” Dumm said. “They are knowledgeable in many, many content areas, but they’re also very open, kind and willing to listen to what the students need. They’re absolutely awesome.”
Anyone looking for a tutor can contact Dumm and provide her with essential information like name, grade and area in need of study. After that, students will be paired up with a current Honors Society member where they can schedule a place and time to study and learn together.
