Welcome back everyone!
Before this school year, I had never been an official tutor before. I had always tried to be helpful with my classmates and friends if I understood a topic that they were struggling with; I would be happy to answer their questions and explain the concept until they had a better understanding of it. However, I hadn’t had the actual job/position of helping someone in a certain subject specifically- I had always wanted to though. That’s why I volunteered to be a tutor during at least one lunch period a week in my school’s History Center. I haven’t been doing it for very long, but it’s already been very rewarding.
In middle school, history was sometimes my favorite subject, and sometimes boring (it depended on the teacher). Freshman year, I took AP human geography, and although it’s not a traditional history class, it’s still under the umbrella of history- I found it fascinating. My human geo teacher runs the History Center, so when he started looking for tutors, I knew I wanted to sign up; he’s also the funniest person ever and I really miss him as a teacher, so that’s a bonus.
When I had my first tutoring session, I was pretty nervous; it was someone in my grade, which I didn’t expect. I thought I would mainly be helping freshmen. However, it actually went really well and I was able to help the person. It felt so good to know someone actually learned something from me, and it helped that I actually love to explain history-related stuff. I find most of the things we cover so interesting, and the history department at my school has really intelligent and funny teachers.
Regardless, I’ve been inspired by these weekly tutoring sessions to do some more tutoring. I’ll now be tutoring in Spanish at the Language Center occasionally, and my English teacher recommended that I tutor in the Writing Center next year- only juniors and seniors are allowed, but she knows I love to write. I would also love to tutor some little kids outside of school, especially since the work is even easier to explain. I encourage you guys to go sign up and volunteer as a tutor for your favorite subject; I promise it will be worth it. I feel like it’s a learning experience on both ends.
As you guys know, I love to volunteer, so it’s nice to find another way to help others- especially my own peers. I’m not the best at explaining things off the bat, but I feel this is also an activity that will really improve my communication skills with people. I hope you guys take advantage of the tutoring resources you have if you’re in need of help with school, and that if you feel comfortable, you sign up to be a tutor yourself!
-Brooke
adventures of a typical high school student 